LiftReview posted July 30, 2020.
Disney Hyperion, 2020. 52 pages.
Review written July 17, 2020, from a library book
Starred Review 2020 Sonderbooks Standout:
#2 Fiction Picture Books
Here’s a wonderful picture book told in comic book format with not a lot of words and with fabulous richly colored illustrations.
The book begins with a small family getting into an apartment building elevator. We focus in on the little girl. She says:
Hi, my name is Iris. When I’m feeling a bit down, there’s one thing that always cheers me up: PUSHING ELEVATOR BUTTONS.
Luckily, that’s my job. Up or down, our floor or the lobby, I always get to push the button.
But then one day, her baby brother pushes the button. And her parents are happy! Betrayal! In her rebellion, Iris pushes ALL the buttons.
Later, one of the elevators is out of order. Iris sees the repairman throw an old elevator call button into the trash. She fishes it out and later tapes it to the wall in her room so she has a button to push.
And it’s then that her adventures begin. For when she pushes the button, to her surprise it gives a Ding and lights up. And when she opens her closet door, she discovers magical worlds to explore.
Now pushing the button gives her a lift in a whole new way.
There’s some more family dynamics in the rest of this book, a wonderful celebration of adventure and imagination and family and small things that give you a lift.
And Dan Santat is so wonderful at making imagination come to life in his pictures. Another perfect pairing of author and illustrator.