Parents' Guide to This Is A Door

Parents need to know that This Is a Door is master storyteller Daniel Nayeri's quirky take on the Hero's Journey theme, as an orphan boy, a wise mouse, and an exuberant dog set out on a quest. The story unfolds in a gorgeous, meticulously produced, illustration-free volume, in which the author finds creative ways to use typography to illustrate what's going on in the tale, like words in white peering out from the darkness, sentences that tumble down pages, and wiggly snakes made of letters. As in many Hero's Journey tales, main characters Ing, mOmO, and Pöppy travel to the underworld and encounter ghosts; characters die—and some return. There's a monster to be slain, a lot of grief, loss, and disappointment along the path—and a cheer-worthy Hero's Return. Besides having a whole lot of fun with letters, author Nayeri shares a lot of information in an afterword about the Hero's Journey theme as it appears in many traditions. While the content is fine for younger independent readers, older tweens with the patience for the sophisticated text design here will most appreciate this book.