Lady in the Water
By M. Night Shyamalan
Little, Brown; $17.99
64 pages, ISBN 0316017345

Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews

M. Night Shyamalan's mysterious storytelling style leaps off the big screen and into Lady in the Water, his first picture book for children. According to the jacket copy, he started this tale for his own kids one night, looking out upon a darkened pool. Shyamalan's latest film of the same title is slated for a July 21 release. While the book and film share a title, their respective stories are only complementary.

Lady in the Water opens with the ominous, "There are ways to know if they are in your backyard." He continues on, sharing the sad story of the narf, a type of sea nymph that lives under swimming pools. Glimpsing the narf can spark an unusual reaction in the viewer, a strange, a prickly feeling in the chest that reveals the person is special. The person who sees the narf then goes on to accomplish something important in the world at some future date, perhaps days, months, or years away.

Paralleling the text, Crash McCreery's illustrations depict a child who seems isolated and lonely. His kite won't fly. He sits alone at the edge of the pool in the rain. There are clues to the narf's presence, and the boy sits on a lounge chair near the pool, at the ready with a flashlight in hand. Pictures, unaccompanied by text, confirm that the narf has indeed been seen, and the book closes with the boy coloring bright chalk art on the poolside concrete. Shyamalan's tale is haunted by the creatures that would help and hurt the narf, but these creatures remain on the periphery of the story. Vague references to the danger the narf faces, "...but you do not need to know all that right now," lead the reader into believing there's much more to the story, and you could find out, if only you observe closely enough the goings on in your own backyard.

The measured and expository writing style is very "talky" at points and might not hold the interest of young readers. While the book jacket calls Lady in the Water a bedtime story, the shadowy illustrations and tales of silent, hidden creatures that lurk in the backyard may be too intense for some young readers.

The pages are a mix of illustrations only, text only, and illustrations with accompanying text. Text and illustrations are printed on the right page only, with small, smudgy black drawings in the bottom left corner of each two-page spread of the book. The drawn-out telling of the story slows the pace dramatically while simultaneously building tension. Older school aged readers will probably find appeal in the book's suspenseful nature and the comforting and inclusive theme of a place in this world for each person.

The artwork of illustrator Crash McCreery, who also worked on the film, is dark and vaguely foreboding. It's wholly appropriate to Shyamalan's work and effectively conveys the mood and atmosphere of the book.

The illustrations and prose work in tandem, rather than correspond to each other page by page. It's like Shyamalan's watching the action and talking to the child in the book, even though the child never acknowledges him, or us. As in M. Night Shyamalan's films, Lady in the Water is simultaneously accessible and unusual, a little frightening and yet captivating at the same time.