This little picture book for very
young readers shows Olive the reindeer finding a large heart on her doorstep,
dropped by her friend Dexter, a flying dog.  She thinks he did it by accident,
so she goes on a trip to his house to return it.  On the way she meets Handler,
a squirrel, who helps her transport the big heart.  They meet Weaver the spider
who also helps with Olive’s scheme.  Finally, Olive gets to Dexter’s house, and
he tells her that the heart was a gift to express his love for her. 

The artwork by J. Otto Seibold is
very distinctive, having a surreal feel.  Seibold doesn’t attempt to make his
figures realistic, but rather makes it highly stylized.  Although it is simple,
it contains lots of small details that should be pleasing to attentive
readers.  The story seems a little syrupy with its theme of a big heart, but
plenty of children and parents will like it. 

© 2003 Christian Perring. All
rights reserved.

Christian
Perring, Ph.D., is Academic Chair of the Arts & Humanities
Division and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island. He is also
editor of Metapsychology Online Review.  His main research is on
philosophical issues in medicine, psychiatry and psychology.

Categories: Children