Line UP! Draw the Line by Kathryn Otoshi

A piece of charcoal in the hands of a small boy becomes the means to adventure.

He first draws a straight line along the ground, and then, growing bold, begins to draw circles and curlicues and circles, as his glee is reflected in the wash of yellow and lilac around him. But in moving left to right, turning around to produce swirls, the charcoal stick flies out of his hand as he backs into---another boy with a drawing stick approaching from page right.

It's a collision! The two boys, reverse images of each other, stare in surprise as the background colors deepen. The second boy picks up the line and trails it above his head like a prize streamer as he runs off page right. The first boy's feet are entangled in the line, and as he falls, he grows angry as the background wash darkens to purple and black.

It's a tug of war! The line breaks.

A crack opens in the ground between the two.

Can the chasm be bridged?

Line is one the primary elements of art, but it also expresses symbolic meaning in Kathryn Otoshi's Draw the Line (Roaring Brook Press, 2017), as a simple line becomes both a division and and then a connection between the two boys who must figure out a way to bridge the break in the line between them.

In this wordless book, artist Otoshi plays with the possible meanings of the line, using color to represent emotion, in a way that young readers will instinctively intuit. A single line tells it all. As Kirkus Reviews says in their starred review, "Otoshi's fluid watercolors are sheer loveliness, surpassed only by her ability to communicate big concepts with no words. A simple, beautiful concept whose reach grows with each rereading."