Her desire to accompany the mouseling, so she doesn’t have to perform alone speaks to a source of their anxiety-and brings the attention to the singular pronoun of *I’ll* be okay… Momo’s presence bolsters courage in the other…and vice versa, we find. The presence of the mice distract and soothe Momo empathizing with the mouseling’s nerves.
interior image from The Piano Recital by Akiko Miyakoshi Adding the hues to the mice’s theater and performances adds to their vivid aspect a lively, more intimate and interactive recital. (Their dresses are a marvel.) Reds and pinks are absent from the stage and characters in the human-occupied spaces…except Momo’s cheeks. The red acrylic gouache is reserved for Momo’s dress and the Mouseling’s dress. Miyakoshi’s use of light and shadow is enthralling. Van Allsburg comes to mind, with the photo-realistic aspects of the pencil, and charcoal, shadow and light. It doesn’t hurt that surrendering to Miyakoshi’s storytelling and animal-friendly world hasn’t led me wrong in her books The Way Home at Night and The Tea Party in the Woods. Miyakoshi was so smooth and convincing in her transition to and from the mouseling that I didn’t think to ask. The question as to whether the mouseling-another small, shy creature– and what follows is real is a question I only pondered after the read. It’s then that she hears someone else vocalizing the same mantra. “I’ll be okay…I’ll be okay,” Momo reassures herself as she waits in the wings for her turn on the piano for her very first recital. Image sourced from The Opinionated Reader
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