Sam's Liberry

Synopsis

Mole lives in his little hole, with his (radish?) pink chandelier, a blanket, and a tv set. Void of color, mole is enticed to venture out into the world by his chandelier friend, who relays the outside images to mole via what they see with their leaves. As the days go on, mole’s beliefs about the world are challenged until one day – his beloved chandelier is missing, sun shining in its place.

Mole must writhe in his dungeon or take a chance to explore where he has never gone before. Who knows, maybe night and day have more to offer than the same old black and white existence…

Illustrative Juxtapositions

As mole is introduced into the world of colors that make up our environment, Šedivá plays on bright exuberance against mole’s persistent black dreary cave. They bring a fun intermingling of borderline unsettling scenes with the neon nature and homes above ground.

Šedivá utilizes the art form of linocut illustrations, or lino printing. This consists of hand carved linoleum being used as a stamp of sorts, with ink being applied to the carving and “printed” onto paper (Feather & Folktales, 2022). This adds a depth to this story’s creative process as a whole.

Having dabbled very mildly in stamp creation (which to be fair, uses a different base medium than linoleum but regardless) I can say it definitely seemed ‘easier’ in my head than reality bared. Granted I was using an old xacto knife as my only tool, it was complicated to create rounded edges and small details. Bare witness to the stamp that took me a solid hour to… carve!

Takeaways

The story embraces curiosity, acknowledges discomfort and distrust, while ultimately rewarding the strength in stepping out. Not only is the message and process an important and relatable one, but the illustrations bring a dynamic format to readers’ minds. This could easily be paired with different types of art activities that challenge learners to step out of their comfort zone and attempt new medias and color choices.

Where to buy:

Any major book retailers for the most part, but here is the publisher themselves:

https://www.thamesandhudsonusa.com/books/mole-in-a-black-and-white-hole-hardcover

References

Amazon. (n.d.). Mole in a black and white hole: Sediva, Tereza [Image]. https://www.amazon.com/Mole-Black-White-Tereza-Sediva/dp/0500652058

Exeter Phoenix. (2023). Workshops in the shop: Creative intro to lino printing with a drink [Image]. https://exeterphoenix.org.uk/events/creative-intro-to-lino-printing/

Feathers & Folktales. (2022). What is linocut art? [blog post]. https://feathersandfolktales.com/diemdangersblogposts/what-is-linocut-art