02/25/2016
"Waiting" by Kevin Henkes
Copyright 2015, 32 pages
Fantasy

Picture taken from kevinhenkes.com

I went off Googling a little bit before I received this book on the mail. People seem to really, really like it. They like it so much, Waiting won two prestigious awards. I like it too. The illustrations are plainly adorable. The slinky rabbit is just too cute, and if the "Puppy on A Sled" toy is for sale somewhere I would probably line up to get one. So I do like it. But I don't know if I like it as much as everyone else does. I finished this book the same time I finished the last three books I posted about. I waited until now to review it because I don't really know what to write about Waiting. I'm not sure what the story is about. That is, if there's any to begin with.

The whole idea of the book is that each of the toys on the windowsill is waiting for something (except for the Rabbit, who just likes to look outside the window). And then as they wait, they watched as varying natural phenomenons - such as storms, snowfall, rainbows, and many more - come and go. At one point there's this ceramic elephant that joined them. However, unlike the five toys that are anthropomorphic - as in they change positions and facial expressions in every page - the elephant looked lifeless. And then by the next page it's already in pieces underneath the windowsill. By the end of the book, A Cat With Patches joined them. The cat turned out to be a matryoshka (Russian nesting doll) and later we see it looking out the window along with all of its smaller pieces. The book stated that it's not waiting for the rain, the moon, the wind, or the snow. It's just waiting for the next thing to happen. So I guess the bit about the cat "waiting for the next thing to happen" is supposed to be the ending note that makes the story full circle. However, as I looked at all the Cats with Patches cramming in the windowsill with the original five toys, I found myself raising an eyebrow muttering: "huh?"

Then again, maybe I'm just not as critical as most people. Someone somewhere wrote that they found this book reassuring, because waiting is a huge part of children's lives. I can't say that's not true, but I also can't see how that's a connection I would make. In fact, I can barely make any connections at all.
On one hand, I suppose it's nice to have a book with a vague story line so people can have their own interpretations about what's going on. On the other hand, I find that most readers are more inclined to follow through with a book if they really know what the story is all about. I'm more on the latter part. That said, I still like this book. It's simple, short and sweet. With short texts and adorable, detailed illustrations, Waiting would make a nice reading practice for young readers.