Palazzo Inverso
Product DescriptionMauk's master is drawing up plans for a grand palazzo, and Mauk is NOT allowed to help. Mauk only sharpens the master's pencils--he doesn't actually use them....Or does he?One morning, Mauk's master is horrified to discover that his plans have run amok, and the construction of the grand palazzo has, too! Is Mauk really to  blame? Or is that just the master's point of view?In this delightful picture book, D. B. Johnson channels the groundbraking style and philosophies of M. C. Escher to tell an endless story with countless perspectives.M. C. Escher (6/17/1898-3/27/1972)Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from D.B. Johnson, Author ofPalazzo InversoDear Amazon Reader,Have you ever thought how much fun it would be if, when you reached the end of a picture book, you could turn it upside down and magically read all the way back to the front? Wouldn't it be amazing if the pictures made sense, right side up AND upside down? When I told my son about this idea, his immediate response was, "OnlyM.C. Eschercould do those pictures."My son is a writer, and we brainstormed the story together. We both loved the optical illusions and puzzles of the Dutch artist, M. C. Escher. If only we could capture the magic and playfulness of those endlessly looping stairs and topsy-turvy rooms in a story about a palazzo that's built upside down!The hero of the story is a young apprentice named Mauk. Like most kids, he loves to draw, but grownups like his Master will only let him sharpen the pencils. And when things go wrong, like most kids, he gets all the blame. One lucky circumstance saves our small hero: when Mauk turns the drawing of the palazzo right side up again, a  magical thing happens--he alone can run on the ceiling of the Palazzo Inverso!Those who have read my five books about a bear named Henry, beginning withHenry Hikes to Fitchburg(Houghton Mifflin 2000), will understand why I wrotePalazzo Inverso. The book meshes perfectly with my desire to bring the ideas of great writers and artists to young children. Just as my bear reenactsHenry David Thoreau's quest to live a simple life, Mauk is the young M. C. Escher, imagining an impossible world full of surprising possibilities. I want kids to feel the power and exhilaration of running on the ceiling, of knowing that everything for them is still possible.I am reminded that Thoreau wrote that he always regretted he was not as smart as the day he was born. And Escher tells us, "I don't grow up. In me is the small child of my early days."Happy reading!D. B. Johnson(Photo © Medora Herbert)