March's Book of the Month--Bog Myrtle

Fun, eccentric, and mildly spooky, BOG MYRTLE, written and illustrated by Sid Sharp, is a terrific modern fairy tale—one that sits comfortably on my shelf next to Extra Yarn, The Spider in the Well, The Wooden Robot and the Log Princess, The Queen in the Cave, and The Skull. And Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden.

It’s the story of two sisters who live together “in a hideous, drafty old house on the edge of town.” Beatrice is sweet to a fault, and Magnolia is ceaselessly nasty. They’re too poor to afford yarn for a sweater, which Beatrice wants to knit to keep Magnolia warm, so Beatrice tries to trade a stone, a twig, and a cicada shell for it at the yarn store in town. The shopkeeper throws her out. When Beatrice returns the objects to the forest, the swamp woman, Bog Myrtle, threatens to turn her into a fly and eat her, but the pair end up bonding over their shared love of forest treasures and Bog Myrtle spins magic silk for Beatrice to make the sweater. When Magnolia sees the wonderful, magical sweater all she sees are dollar signs, and she sets up a factory in the basement, where she forces Beatrice and the spiders who share their home to churn out sweater after sweater for hundreds of dollars each.

I think that’s all of this quirky plot that I’ll share, but the story satisfies and the art delights. Indeed, this pro-union and -sustainability graphic novel is a treat from start to finish. The art was created with “pencil, gouache, watercolor, ink, beet juice, and dirt,” and it’s SO lovely, with bright colors, fun design elements, and characters who are varying levels of grumpy and/or cheerful. The book is well designed and uses good, thick paper that feels nice to hold. I’ll treasure my copy for years to come!

--Lynn