The Invisible Web

March 15, 2020
Karst and Lew-Vriethoff follow up their picture book about The Invisible String (2018) that connects loved ones over distances and even after death with an extension of the metaphor. The "hundreds of Strings" that connect each individual "to everyone we know" also "create a nest that covers the planet, / interlacing us together, cradling us forever." This is the titular Web, depicted in Lew-Vriethoff's bright cartoons as sweeping colored lines that circle the globe every which way like an ambitious international airline's route map. It includes humans, animals, plants, and even weather systems: "Everything is linked!" But the Web is only as strong as the people who remember and care for it, and a double-page spread that shows a frightened, pale-skinned family fleeing a burning city on verso for a refugee tent city in a flowered meadow on recto, where a multiracial peace demonstration is also taking place, depicts both the consequences of forgetting and the healing powers of remembering the Web. In going global with her String, Karst has a very difficult time maintaining her metaphor. The notion of a concrete, tangible bond of love is a child-friendly way to imagine relationships, but making those crisscrossing bonds into a Web of mutual responsibility strains the concept. Will writing one's cousin truly prevent world war? By the end, Karst has gone overboard: "The Invisible Web is alive! / Its time is right now. / It breathes as we breathe, / pulsating all over our Earth, / the single heartbeat / of life and love." Hopelessly tangled. (Picture book. 4-8)

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April 1, 2020
Preschool-G This companion to The Invisible String (2018) expands upon Karst's idea that we are all inconspicuously linked to those we love. Here, she posits that we are also connected through an invisible web with everything in the universe, including humans, plants, animals, climate, and ancestors. She cites examples of a neglected web (lonely Luisa is excluded at lunch; sad Stefano's friend Marcos bullies him; Mrs. Patel struggles alone with her work) but insists that a concerted effort by everyone to maintain this hidden network will result in a better world. Karst's text, while overly sentimental and somewhat didactic, offers a useful message about the importance of world harmony. Lew-Vriethoff's digital illustrations help to clarify the text and promote the story's message of empathy and social justice. Throughout, the characters and artwork are encircled by a red string carried in the beak of a robin. Peace and kindness are worthy ideals, and the book will find an audience with fans of this author.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)