See the archive for focus pieces from previous months. Her illustrations speak volumes about those worlds, too. As she asks her mother about transplanting the found seedlings, she interpolates herself between her mother and the sinkful of dishes, hanging around her waist and tipping her head back until her hair flirts with the soapsuds, in an action recognizable from any kitchen that's ever held a kid. One of the freshest things about All Alone in the Universe is Perkins' retention of illustration in a novel for readers of an age usually no longer favored with it. Pictures will only get you so far, however, and Perkins matches them with telling textual depictions notable for what they avoid as much as what they accomplish.
Some authors provide one kind of reward, some another.
With Perkins it's the offhand verisimilitude of artistic moments in text and image that catch readers, hooking them on for the ride to wherever Perkins wants to take them. We're looking forward to the next trip. Clouds for Dinner. All Alone in the Universe. This page was last updated on February 1, 2000.