Letters to a Prisoner

Gr 2–5—In this wordless picture book about the power of communication and the plight of political prisoners, a man and his daughter march in a protest. A bright red circle symbolizes their cause (and matches her balloon). Riot police, their thoughts and opinions expressed by a black square, hit the father on the head, pop the girl's balloon, and take him away to a desolate prison, where letters begin arriving to the prisoner by way of a bird and mouse. When the letters are burned by the prison guard, the smoke carries the message across the world, which results in enough letters pouring in to create wings for the prisoner to fly away to reunite with his daughter. Goldstyn's watercolor, ink, and colored pencil drawings in a loose style on a white background, reminiscent of the work of Matthew Cordell, are expressive and don't need words. The wordlessness and nonspecific issues make this book universal with a magical realism twist. The story roots itself in real-life issues through back matter about the author's experience with Write for Rights, Amnesty International's global letter-writing campaign to people with authority or people fighting for human rights, and the book is dedicated to Raif Badawi, a Saudi activist and political prisoner, and his family.