PICTURE BOOK - The Stamp Collector by Jennifer Lanthier

Illustrated by Francois Thisdale

2012 Fitzhenry & Whiteside, CANADA

HC &$18.95

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating: 4.35

My rating: 2/It was okay

Endpapers: Slate blue

Title Page: Simple, with a few illustrations of stamps, tasteful

Illustrations:  Dark, with speckles of white, a little bit fuzzy, but very effective

1^st line/s: "This is the sotry of not long ago and not far away.
It is the story of a boy who loves stamps and a boy who loves words.
This is the story of a life that is lost.
And found."

My comments:  Rating this book a "2" meaning "it was okay."  The Afterword was the best part.  The premise was wonderful.  But the story itself didn't grab me.  It was poetically written and dramatically illustrated, but the meat and potatoes were hamburger and mashed.  There was not enough detail, a little TOO much showing and not telling, if that's possible.  The relationship between the prisoner and the guard was non-existent and then there.  A story that children would love?  For example?  Perhaps if this book were written for adults ... but it is targeted for the children's audience, I believe, and I found it lacking.  And I'm really sorry about that.

Goodreads:  A city boy finds a stamp that unlocks his imagination; a country boy is captivated by stories. When they grow up, the two boys take different paths – one becomes a prison guard, the other works in a factory – but their early childhood passions remain. When the country boy’s stories of hope land him in prison, the letters and stamps sent to him from faraway places intrigue the prison guard – and a unique friendship begins.