The Earth Shook: A Persian Tale
Grade 2–4—Napoli spins a strange and troubling story of a lone child left to survive in a world of wild animals. As Parisa (Farsi for "Like an Angel") is sleeping in her bed, the earth shakes and homes collapse. "No one was left within the town walls except Parisa" and she slips "…outside like a frightened whisper." Each day, the girl knocks on a door that is answered by an animal: Boar on Saturday, Snapping Turtle on Sunday, then Bear, Owl, Snake, Wolf, and Lion. Having been harmed in some way by either human or beast, each creature sends the child away with a threat. Referring to the animals as "monsters," the resilient girl decides to "do what humans do." She exhibits kindness, thankfulness, and laughter, and several animals join in. According to an author's note, the inspiration for the story came from a 2003 earthquake that killed half the population in the city of Bam, Iran, and orphaned many children. A number of Swiatkowska's impressionistic oil paintings feature striking, larger-than-life close-ups of Parisa's face, legs, and body; of Snapping Turtle and Bear, Owl and Lion. With the paint layered color upon color, the artist's boldly stroked style is even looser and more imaginative than that employed in Helen Recorvits'sYoon and the Jade Bracelet(Farrar, 2008). Artistry aside, the jarring tale ends abruptly, leaving disturbing thoughts in its wake.—Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OHEND