Kaleidoscope

By: Brian Selznick, Robert Een - music

Narrated by: Gwendoline Christie, Brian Selznick - author's note - interview

A ship. A garden. A library. A key. In Kaleidoscope, the incomparable Brian Selznick presents the story of two people bound to each other through time and space, memory and dreams. At the center of their relationship is a mystery about the nature of grief and love which will look different to each listener. Kaleidoscope is a feat of storytelling that illuminates how even the wildest tales can help us in the hardest times. With music by Robert Een.

©2021 Brian Selznick (P)2021 Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.

Mystical and moving

A fragmented, elegiac collection of short stories by Brian Selznick. These tales are beautifully written and suffused with a yearning, mournful quality.

Stick around for the brief interview with Selznick at the end, in which he explains how Kaleidoscope (a five-year project) came apart and then came together again in the midst of the pandemic. The stories are ostensibly aimed at age ten and up, but I think grown-ups will love them too. In some ways they seem too heavy for children, but after nearly two years of pandemic-related death and upheaval, these gentle tales of longing and loss might resonate deeply with young readers.

Gwendoline Christie’s narration is impeccable.