Anthony and the Gargoyle - Jo Ellen Bogart - ★★★

AUTHOR: Jo Ellen Bogart

ILLUSTRATOR: Maja Kastelic

GENRE: Children's Picture Book

PUBLICATION DATE: October 5, 2021

RATING: 3 stars.

In a Nutshell: A wordless picture book about a little boy and a gargoyle. Cute story, but leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Amazing illustrations. Recommended, but mainly for adult-child buddy reading.

Plot Preview:

Anthony lives with his parents in a house full of photos. One day, a “rock” in Anthony’s room cracks open, to reveal a strange but friendly creature inside. When Anthony asks his mother about the rock, she shows him the photo album of their trip of Paris. Anthony realises that his new friend resembles the gargoyles at the Notre-Dame Cathedral. He shows the photos to the little gargoyle as well. And when they get a chance to go to Paris to visit his ailing grandma, Anthony makes sure that they find the gargoyle who resembles the baby gargoyle the most.

I am not usually fond of wordless picture books, but the presence of the word ‘gargoyle’ in the title was like clickbait to me! I just had to get this! 😅

Whatever I have written in the above preview is my interpretation of the story. As this is a wordless picture book, it communicates only through its illustrations. So was Anthony a rock collector or was this the only rock he had? Does he like rocks, or did he keep this only as a memento? Was the old lady in the photo his grandma or some other older relative? How did the gargoyle hatch all of a sudden? How did the ‘egg’ end up with his parents in the first place? Did Anthony consider the gargoyle a pet or a friend? No right answer for any of this. 

Every single aspect of this story is open to discussions. This can go either way. Those who prefer using their imagination (most children) will enjoy going wild to establish the gargoyle’s antecedents. Those who prefer things spelt out (most adults) will probably have to rely on their children’s creativity to dig deeper into the story.

As you might guess, the illustrations have a powerful role to play in this book, far beyond typical picture books. The storyboarding is in graphic novel format, with several panels showing the development of the plot. The watercolour-style illustrations, especially the ones set in Paris, are stunning. Each panel is filled with plenty of elements in the foreground as well as background. A physical copy of the book would be much better as the graphics will be much clearer and visible in it. The colour scheme is somewhat muted, but it suits the cosy tone of the story.

A part of me wishes this had text as well. The story is creative, no doubt, but it somehow feels incomplete to me. Then again, this won’t bother those who do enjoy wordless narratives. Plus, even without words, it does offer plenty to ponder upon, so that’s there.

Recommended for adult-child buddy reading, whether at home or in classrooms exploring stories set in Paris or stories about architecture. Because of its discussion-oriented nature and the tricky word in the title, it would best suit ages 6-9. Younger readers could also “read” it just for a fun, creative storytelling experience.