"A mix of comical vignettes and broad vistas illustrate an account of the lives and misadventures of a clan of tiny Twims.... Action with immersive, full-page or larger land- and seascapes that seem to go on forever while offering multitudinous crags, glades and foreground features to investigate. Like Poochie-Blue, visitors to the valley will be in no hurry to leave."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Ponti’s beautiful, intricate illustrations contain strange details hinting at larger stories. The guileless narrative sounds like it came directly from the brain of a child with a vivid imagination, and fanciful kids drawn by the enchanting artwork might find their own imaginations sparked by this odd, playful French import."
—Sarah Hunter, Booklist
"Claude Ponti's gorgeous, deliciously oversized French picture book My Valley may feel to adults like one of those childhood favorites whose illustrations are forever etched in their minds. . . My Valley is firstly elaborate world-building; its real storytelling lies in distinct vignettes. . . A wonder."
—Karin Snelson, Shelf Awareness
"Ponti’s dreamy paintings of towering trees and distant hills are worth lingering over. . . Fans of immersive fantasy worlds will feel that they have discovered a treasure."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"My Valley is wonderfully large...as it needs to be to offer a world of vast spaces. It’s certainly big enough for a grandfather and grandson to hide behind. Ponti illustrates his own work, and while he can zoom in for the close detail, such as the eye of a curious giant, he’s equally good with a broad panorama. My Valley is filled with many full and detailed pages of the Blue Valley’s landscape, representing all four seasons. They’re an invitation to pause, regard the view, and get to know the world of the Twims as if you had their eyes, and as if you were their size."
—Philip Graham, The Millions
"The world Mr. Ponti has created... is one that I will be devouring for a long time... Truly, the sheer scope of this book is awe-inspiring... As a budding illustrator or artist, I would have lived in this book as a child, right alongside the Twims."
—Elizabeth Dulemba
"Imagine the sweeping vistas of Maxfield Parrish coupled with a world so snug and cozy a hobbit would be jealous and you’ve got yourself a book that outright refuses to cater to our preconceived notions of what a picture book should be. Lush and lovely, cuddly and warm, this is one uncanny valley you may never wish to leave. . . when a book like My Valley comes along, surely it’s too good an opportunity to pass up. . . awe-inspiring. . . A jaw-dropper make comfortable for the younger set. Worth discovering."
—Elizabeth Bird, Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system; former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library
"My Valley marks a particularly exciting addition to the world of translated literature... lush with colorful and stark imagery that readers of all ages will find infinite secrets in. The pastiche of stories contain magic, compassion, and tongue-twisting names that will delight families for storytimes to come. This is a truly unique addition to any storybook collection."
—Kevin Elliott, 57th Street Books
"Claude Ponti, in my eyes, is one of the most essential authors in the whole of children's literature. His bursting creativity and the wealth of his images incite the almost systematic pleasure of children. The Pontian universe, with its many cultural and artistic references, its themes and its language distinctive of the world of childhood, its originality in its forms, colors, typography, and the arrangement of its scenes, presents an offering of narratives that strongly engage children's emotions and which meet them on the horizon of their expectations. Here children often find the power that a new piece of knowledge or the control of a word bring, and which allows them to influence their destiny just a little bit more."
—Annie Dupin
"The work of Claude Ponti bursts to the point of vertigo; My Valley is a marvel, a book in the line of Borges, oriented toward infinity. My Valley is a masterpiece of children’s literature, a masterpiece of images and text, of dreams – quite simply, a very great book."
—Au bout de la corde
"Each page is an invitation to reverie, a small tale inside a large one, dense and enigmatic such that you will linger there in contemplation."
—Anne Diatkine, Libération
"A child could get happily lost in the valley – the most beautiful place in the world - where the Twims live. Twims are little furry critters with long tails that look something like a chubby monkey and something like a small bear. They live in tree houses and enjoy many of the same occupations as humans but their lives are very peaceful, almost free of discord. The illustrations convey a magical world that anyone would want to live in full of love, beauty, fun and intrigue."
—Katrina Yurenka, Youth Services Book Review
"My Valley has captivated our imagination and hearts . . . The details are so amazing that you can’t help but feel that you have immersed yourself in the valley . . . It truly captivates your attention as a child or even as an adult."
—Melanie Braga, Momma Braga
02/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—A rare English-language translation brings Ponti, a beloved children's book creator in France, to American audiences for the first time since Chick and Chickie Play All Day. The shelf-defeating trim size allows ample space for Ponti's retro illustrations and whimsical style as he introduces the Twims, round-faced rodentlike creatures with large families and extensive free time. The book contains no narrative arc but dips in and out of the geographic territory, lifestyle, and traditions of the verdant valley's cutesy denizens. Each spread offers a new aspect of the Twims' experience—some thoughtful, some twee, and almost all designed to appeal to lovers of coziness and domestic details. A tour of the central family's House Tree, for example, provides a cutaway reminiscent of the art in Jill Barklem's "Brambly Hedge," with a dash of absurdism as the elevation reveals a trapeze room and a swimming pool among the winter storerooms and open hearths. The vignettes shift from playful (a vast game of wind-borne "telephone") to contemplative (a gorgeous panorama from atop a solitary staircase) to bizarre (a flying apartment building shedding Twims); the scattershot nature of the book invites readers to pore over the detailed illustrations and immerse themselves in the fanciful mythology. VERDICT This oversize album—too precious for some—feels timeless and peculiarly original. The art alone is worth a visit to the Twims' lush valley.—Robbin E. Friedman, Chappaqua Library, NY
★ 2016-11-16
A mix of comical vignettes and broad vistas illustrates an account of the lives and misadventures of a clan of tiny Twims.It must have been a challenge to translate: the oversized album, originally published in French in 1998, is narrated by Poochie-Blue—who introduces Sowhatty, Nothin'-Doin', and many like-named members of a teeming extended family as the book opens. He then takes readers on a tour of his hollow cliffside House Tree, the Forest of Lost Children, the Theater of Hissy Fits (where grievances can be acted out), and the cemetery gardens especially tailored for lovers of music or mountains, for haters, readers, or Twims just "waiting for the Goochnies to return." In between, he tells of the mushroomlike Goochnies' mysterious disappearance, of children who fell from the sky (actually from a passing windblown apartment house), of a Sad Giant's visit, and of weather and seasons in the idyllic seaside valley. Along with a labeled area map and a cutaway of the House Tree, Ponti alternates panels of Twims, who look like anthropomorphic lemmings (uniform in color but a little varied in features and dress), in action with immersive, full-page or larger land- and seascapes that seem to go on forever while offering multitudinous crags, glades and foreground features to investigate. Like Poochie-Blue, visitors to the valley will be in no hurry to leave. (Picture book. 5-9)
