코끼리 아저씨와 100개의 물방울
By: Noh In-Kyung
Publisher: Munhakdongne, Korea, 2012
Format: Hardback
So much love, so many drops of water
The English translation of the title to this Korean silent book is Mr. Tutti and 100 drops of water. The artwork makes the book stand out - the illustrations are composed by pixels in grayscale tones. The only elements that are drawn in a more traditional style are the elephants and the water drops.
With a bucket of waterdrops (we know from the title that it are 100 of them) on his head, Mr. Tutti rides his bicycle through the pixelated landscape. He meets all kinds of dangers, like steep cliffs, thirsty giraffes, prickly cacti and water-stealing birds. His actions demonstrate great courage and kindness of heart - he offers a few valuable waterdrops to all who need it, even to a colony of ants. But in the end, he finds his bucket empty. The tears of his eyes when discovering this matches the rain that falls from the sky, and before long, his bucket is refilled so there can be a happy ending when he gets back to his children with the water they need. The illustration at the end page shows us that Mr. Tutti is a wise elephant that has learned from his experience, and figured out a better way to transport water on his next trip to the lake.
The artwork is fascinating, it is such an original method, and it is fun to see all the different shapes, ghosts, nature and animal appear from the pixels. The pixels vary in intensity, size and shape. The greyish tones against the white background makes the water drops pop, emphasizing their importance. Mr. Tutti is very expressive, and it is impossible to not feel empathy with this kind, hard-working father.
All the pictures in the book are double-spreads. The use of the full width of the book emphasizes the fact that Mr. Tutti is on a long, long journey. Like many other Korean childrens books, there is a lot of white space in Mr. Tutti, showing a trust in children´s imagination and storytelling abilities. The white let´s the reader "fill in the blanks" with the surroundings, stories and landscapes of their choosing.
According to the author, the name of the elephant, "Mr. Tutti", was chosen to represent tribute all fathers. Mr. Tutti and 100 drops of wather is a light-hearted and enjoyable tribute, worthy of all hardworking fathers out there!
No In-Kyoung has published several picturebooks and has won several awards, including two international awards for Mr. Tutti.
