The Box

(Hardback)

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Description

Leopold's new bike makes him the envy of every kid in town--almost every kid. While Leopold is busy showing off his brightred bike, with its loud bell and thunderbolt decal, imaginative and kindhearted Kobe plays in a box and pays no attention to the new bike. Leopold gets angry when he runs into Kobe's box while riding his bike, but he soon learns thatthe box can take the kids on the playground places that Leopold's bike never could--jungles, race tracks, and the sky!

Reviews

"It's a schoolyard rumble: dreary realism vs. unbridled imagination! (One guess as to which one triumphs.) Even if the conclusion is never in doubt, first-timer Janssens makes getting there a world of fun, largely due to his three-dimensional sculptures that bring to life the invented adventures of a boy named Kenny. A snooty dweeb named Leo is so busy showing off his shiny new bike that he runs right into the cardboard box that Kenny occupies on the playground. "Why are you sitting in that silly box" yells Leo, prompting Kenny to launch into a story in which the box transforms into a race car, mountaintop cabin, hot air balloon, and more (Leo, meanwhile, is repeatedly recast as the villain). At each juncture, Leo shouts his protests ("That's impossible!"), but the kidsand Leo, eventuallyare won over by Kenny's storytelling. Like his hero, Janssens has a strong sense of whimsy (parsley sprigs form a cluster of trees, cellophane becomes the ocean's churning waves); with bright eyes, a wide smile, and a haircut that's all cowlicks, Kenny is every ounce the dreamer." - Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

Axel Janssens (1977, Ukkel, Belgium) works as an illustrator and a designer for various clients. At a young age, he moved with his family to the countryside of Diest. The world that sprang from his imagination often took over. His grandfather, an ex-footballer, hoped that his grandson would cherish the same passion for the sport, but that wasnt the case. The desire for a career as an engineer or a lawyer was also in vain. After a (relatively) carefree childhood and somewhat more difficult puberty, it slowly became clear that Axel had been put in the cradle for only one thing. Of this, he has made his profession.