Me and You was written and illustrated by Anthony Browne. It was published by Random House Children’s Books in 2009.
This story is a tough one to summarize since the left and right pages are separate story happening at the same time. By the end, it all comes together.
There’s a pretty yellow house with three bears living in it.
Then, there’s a girl with her father (or mother). She gets distracted by a balloon, gets lost and enters a pretty yellow house while the family of bears are out while their porridge cools down.
The girl eats the porridge, sits on the chairs and falls asleep upstairs.
The bears return home to this mischievous girl. She wakes up surprised and runs out.
In the end she finds her father/mother and gets a big hug.
In Me and You the illustrations (of the little girl in a British city) that are drawn are quite stunning to look at. The use of “black and white” really is effective... almost to the point where your heart stops beating.
The illustrations on the right side (of the bear family) are a complete contrast. They are drawn in color and the choice of paper is unique, as it seems a bit rough.
I was perplexed after my first reading of this book not knowing how to interpret the story. I’m sure children who read this might be a bit confused as the story mixes magic realisms elements. It’s certainly an interesting twist on Goldie Locks and the Three Bears.
Besides the look of the city in this book, another give away as to where we are is the term “messed around”. How British...
I’d recommend this book more for adults. The ending tends to be a bit mushy by the way.
