Pezzettino
by
Leo Lionni
Order:
USA
Can
Knopf, 2006 (1977)
Hardcover, Softcover
Reviewed by J. A. Kaszuba Locke
P
ezzettino
(
little piece
in Italian) is a delightful tale of a character defined by a small orange square. He thinks himself so insignificant in size that he must belong to someone else or be a piece of somebody.
P
ezzettino sets out to find an answer, asking the same question of everyone he meets, '
Excuse me, am I perhaps your little piece?
' He visits various
big
characters:
one-who-runs
,
strong-one
,
swimming- one
,
one-on-the-mountain
, and the
flying-one
. Each time, the answer is that he doesn't belong or is not a part of them. At long last, Pezzettino visits the
wise-one
, who tells him to go to the
Island of Wham
. He sets off in his tiny boat for a '
rough trip on the high sea
', arriving at the island where he finds neither trees nor grass, nor any living creature.
L
eo Lionni, who died at age eighty-nine in 1999, is celebrated as an international designer, illustrator, and graphic artist. Born in Holland, Lionni is hailed as a '
master of the simple fable
'.
Pezzettino
is an oversized, graphic art book, which is sure to capture the hearts and imaginations of children everywhere. Lionni's tale is a paradigm for youngsters in a
big world
, sending the positive message to
be yourself
.
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