Ike’s Incredible Ink

Ike—an inkblot with chickeny legs, a dome head, and an eager smile—is also a blocked writer. Like many before him, he procrastinates (“A bit of cleaning was also in order”), and then he decides that his story demands ink made from exceptional ingredients: shadows, the feathers of a booga-bird, and the essence of the dark side of the moon (which requires building a rocket ship). After some chaotic concocting (“He mashed, he bludgeoned, he crushed, and he steamed”), Ike sits down to write and, sure enough, a story inspired by his ink quest materializes. The structure of Farley’s debut feels a little like Ike’s journey: well-intentioned, but convoluted and somewhat repetitive. However, Farley is a genuine talent, playing with detail, scale, and texture like a seasoned pro, giving her images a sweet, eccentric, comic rhythm. And there are some marvelous individual spreads, including one that definitively and spectacularly answers the question, What happens when you mix ink in a blender and leave the lid off? Ages 4–8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (Aug.)