Kazuno Kohara(Macmillan)
This poor little wizard is feeling very blue as he is the only one who cannot fly and the other apprentices have left him behind to go on exciting airborne adventures. But as he strolls aimlessly through the forest he comes across the most unlikely companion: a dragon!
The giant beast proves to be a wonderful friend and is intent on helping the wizard to learn to fly. His theory is that the little wizard just needs a reason to be able to fly. When a knight comes through the forest with the sole aim of slaying the dragon, will Little Wizard manage to fly to get to his friend on time to warn him?
I am a big fan of Kazuno Kohara’s style (see my review of Jack Frost here); it excels in the beauty of simplicity and bold illustrations and is in the tradition of Jan Pienkowski’s Meg & Mog’s illustrations. Kohara’s style is particular in the fact that each picture book is based on a very limited palette of colours; usually she uses two colours but for Little Wizard, she has worked on three: black, purple and green as seen below.
This is a lovely tale of finding friendship in the most unlikely places. The mix of her uncluttered style and the heart-warming story makes this another winner from one of my favourite contemporary illustrators. Once again, do not be fooled by the simple illustrations, this is one book to be enjoyed by all. A real delight.
Sent for review by publisher.
