BOOK POWER
Like a Leviathan
One fine summer a hungry beast prowled the waters not far offshore from the Seacoast Science Center, where kids and families come to learn about the sea. The ocean is full of fascinating critters, but also deadly ones. When dangers lurk small people try to be brave.
In a single day a crew of summer camp kids and I made an eighteen-foot great white shark from sticks, phragmites reeds, string, and farmer's rowcover. It is true the materials were humble, but our leviathan was as big as the real shark. By fabricating that beast those children came to own its forces. When they lifted the effigy above their heads and walked it around, they became empowered. Good stories do the same. All the struggles of the world are manageable within the pages of a book. photo: Seacoast Science Center, Rye, NH |
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When my name was still dos Santos, I painted the art for this book cover with gouache, an opaque watercolor. One fun thing is that you need to read the whole book first.
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