The Plan by Alison Paul (review)

In this cleverly crafted story, a single word changes by a single letter (added, subtracted, or changed) to move the story along in the next frame or page. That device tells the tale of a young girl with a plan, to fly to Saturn in the small plane that sits unused on her farm; as her dad is busy at the sink with pans, she and her beloved pup sneak into Pa’s room and read the album that documents his barnstorming career in partnership with the girl’s late mother. Inspired by memories and his daughter, Dad preps for a new show with the plane, flying over the plain with daughter and dog along, pleasing a cheering audience below, and bringing to fruition at least one part of his daughter’s plan. The story is a quiet one, but the changing words are cunningly developed, and audiences will enjoy guessing what might come next. Lehmann’s clean and orderly line, watercolor, and gouache art carries the bulk of the plot, with the changing word pattern punctuating rather than narrating, and the simple, streamlined linework, with scenes contained within a further frame, makes the necessary components easy for audiences to decode. Period details (such as the pump next to the sink) add atmospheric framing, and elements such as the dog’s resolutely biped approach to life provide gentle comedy. Though gentle where Escoffier’s Take Away the A (BCCB 1/15) is raucous, this offers similar potential for an interesting curricular dimension in reading or language arts.