Un-Brella by Scott E. Franson

Un-brella
By Scott E. Franson
Roaring Brook Press, $15.95
40 pp.; ISBN-13: 978-1596431799

Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews

Scott E. Franson's wordless picture book about a girl and her magic umbrella is a delightful series of surprises for young readers.

Un-brella opens with an outside view of a girl looking through her window at the snowy day. She opens her dresser drawer and pulls out her bathing suit, flippers, sunglasses, and an umbrella, or rather, un-brella, much to the surprise of her pets. She scampers out into the snow -- turn the page -- and she sits, un-brella open and shining sunshine down onto her like a spotlight, in the midst of a patch of summer, lush green grass and flowers, an oasis in the snowstorm. As the little girl runs through the wintry landscape, a bird's eye view shows a trail of summer following her amid the snowy day. Reaching a frozen pond, she splashes with the fish and penguins and while sunning herself on the shore, befriends a snowman.

The summer brings a reversal the events -- the little girl heads outside on a gloriously sunny day all bundled up with winter wear and still carrying her un-brella. The un-brella of course, now has snow falling from inside of it, creating trail of winter and snow through the broad green landscape. She makes snow angels and skates on an icy pond. When the little girl finally returns home, she brings a surprise with her, and for the reader, too.

The only minor weak point in the book is the transition page that demonstrates the passage of time and change of season from winter to summer. It's slightly vague; the left hand of the page has ground swathed in snow and bare tree branches, then the greenery increases from left to right, where the girl is seen in her little house, surrounded by green grass, leafy trees, and blooming flowers. It was only after turning the page again that we realized what happened (we first thought it was the magic umbrella making everything summer-like).

Un-brella is a well-told tale that's so strongly visual, the text isn't missed at all. The freedom of the word-less story allows parents and children to explore the book at their own pace and in their own way, making up a story or simply talking through what happens and why, and what happens next.

Brigham Young University-Idaho instructor and graphic designer Franson has created art that relies heavily on intricate shape and color choices to achieve depth and maintain kids' visual interest. The characters, the girl, her cat and fish, the snowmen, are amazingly expressive and engaging. The book keeps kids guessing about what will happen next -- the composition and layout of the illustrations encourage children to follow the action in the pictures along from left to right, supporting pre-reading skills in young children, helping kids learn without them even knowing it.