Alula – The Garden / The Jungle

Reto Crameri
Alula – The Garden / The Jungle

Silent Book and Reversal Book

Children’s games open a door into a fantastic world we will call Alula, a place full of adventures and surprises, danger and exotic creatures. Alula is also a special kind of word – a palindrome. Read it backwards and see!
Two children are tracking a cat – or is it an exotic butterfly they’re following? In this reversible book without words, Reto Crameri gives two different versions of a daring expedition. One story shows two children playing in a garden. They spot a cat and then follow it through long grass past a hose, along a washing line and flowerbeds, to a pond. Read the book the other way around, though, and an innocent garden hunt becomes an intrepid journey through thick jungle. The cat turns into a colourful butterfly, the hose becomes a giant snake and instead of moving hand over hand along a washing line, the children swing through the air on long vines.
The charming illustrations offer a creative take on the role of imagination in children’s playing.