Non Stop

This speculative tale from the late Ungerer offers a dark view of the future—and a sliver of hope. Vasco, a small figure in a green newsboy cap, wanders the ruined world alone: “Flowers had turned into memories.... Everyone had gone to the moon.” His long black shadow stretches before him, pointing a long finger to warn him away from collapsing buildings and random explosions. Ungerer renders these hilarious close shaves in capital letters—“JUST IN TIME!” Crisply outlined, brilliantly lit urban settings are desolate but not frightening; the shadow keeps Vasco safe. A beetle-like creature entrusts Vasco with its tiny swaddled child, and Vasco keeps “doubt and fear at bay, by focusing on Poco’s sweet little face.” He follows his shadow’s directions into the desert, where he finds a giant cake, an iced refuge with “ample supplies of everything.” Though Vasco’s trusty shadow disappears, Vasco and Poco live contentedly from then on in the layered cake home. Ungerer acknowledges the threats that Earth faces (“A heatwave followed close behind,/ melting the ice at their heels”), but Vasco and Poco survive them all. Humankind may teeter on the edge of disaster, Ungerer acknowledges, but it may endure anyway—somehow. Ages 5–8. [em](Sept.) [/em]