There is great humanity in this story. A yearning for permanence and self-reliance. The art is beautiful. Several pages go by without any text and none is missed. There is real poetry in this book both in prose and pictures. The explanation of why rain makes her sad by affecting her Kleinblitzen, the tiny lightnings that help her speak and move is quite ingenious.
Towards the end of the book as she is feeling rather abandoned and lonely her anger rises and she discards her key only to have it caught by a real fairy which she had no idea existed.
In Vögelein 2 the story continues and grows. I will refrain from elaborating except to say I not only loved the story - I loved the background Jane Irwin shared on how she based the characters of the street cleaner. She is obviously one of the few people with great powers of observation and a gift of listening. She sees the silver lining in people that others might dismiss without notice. This comes out so well in her story that I find I feel rather deeply for the characters after only two issues and am already mourning the fact there will be only five issues.
It is also interesting to note that she promises to keep a bimonthly schedule and can pull this off because the book is already written and drawn. It is just a matter of finishes and printing. She wanted to complete it before soliciting it to insure she did not miss a deadline. This I found very commendable.
Check out www.Vögelein.com for more information and ordering. She has lots of very cute merchandise as well.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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