Like the author’s child I’m not sure about the ending. But it was certainly different! I’m looking forward to seeing how the kids like it. ( )

Illustrator at large Carson Ellis, whose work has appeared in such publications as The New York Times and The New Yorker, who has received Grammy nominations for her album cover art, and whose previous picture-book, Du Iz Tak? was chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book in 2017, presents an appealingly surreal tale here. In the eponymous half room we have a half table, a half carpet, a half cat and a half girl. When the girl's other half comes knocking, she is made whole, but when the other side of the cat shows up, all is not so easily resolved...

In the Half Room is the third of Ellis' own picture-books, although she has illustrated a number of examples of the form written by other authors, and it strikes me as being exactly the kind of conceptual, quirky book that she would produce. According to her brief note at the rear, it was inspired by a discussion with her son. The artwork itself is lovely, the concept intriguing. I wasn't sure how to interpret the ending - perhaps its symbolizes the conflicted nature of cats, or perhaps it simply depicts how they are always twisting themselves around in order to chase their own tales? - but that very ambiguity felt appropriate, given the story. As others have observed, this feels like an homage to classic picture-books like Goodnight Moon. Recommended to fans of Carson Ellis' artwork, and to picture-book readers who like quirky, open-ended bedtime books. ( )

A weird little book, with a cutout on the cover, a soothing cadence/rhyme, simple rhymes, and brain-confusing illustrations ("half a rug on half a floor"). A woman is reunited with her other half, but when the cat's other half appears, the two tussle, then remain separate. I imagine readers will have all different kinds of reactions to this one! ( )

quirky ( )