Review: A Bell for Jimmy by Theo Wadsworth, Illustrated by Julia Naurzalijeva

A Bell for Jimmy is a heartwarming picture book for older children written by Theo Wadsworth and illustrated by Julia Naurzalijeva.

A traveler arrives in Eden, a remote, small mountain village, to the tolling of bells. He makes his way to the village store where five village ancients sit – all of them listening reverently to the tolling bells. Once the bells stop, one of the villagers begins to tell the traveler the sobering tale behind the bells. He’s informed that today is a special day as it was twelve years and three month since their remote mountain village became snowed in, with every one of its inhabitants in mortal danger of perishing from the cold and starvation.

The snow and icy cold had begun in September and by the end of the sixth week of relentless darkness, freezing cold and falling snow, the villagers’ food supplies and wood had dwindled down to nothing while their cattle lay dead and dying as they froze in their stalls. A rescue party to Ardenboer, over one hundred and twenty miles away, had never been heard from again and finally, as the townsfolk abandoned all hope and prepared themselves for imminent death, one family’s dog, Jimmy, launched himself into the storm with the fate of the entire village held in the balance…

Wadsworth’s narrative is told in quatrains, a four-line stanza using an ABCB rhyme scheme that is highly effective. The author never loses sight of his primary audience, and while the rhyme scheme appears simplistic, this is a testament to Wadsworth’s talents as a wordsmith. Each stanza paints a picture and evokes emotion, while the rhyming sequences are organic and flow naturally from beginning to end.

Although the possibility of an entire village perishing from hunger and cold likely isn’t ideal subject matter for a young child’s bedtime read, it nevertheless has a happy ending and is nicely balanced by the character of Jimmy the dog, a fearless hero in the face of insurmountable odds, which older children will appreciate. However, A Bell for Jimmy does raise several sobering issues in relation to survival, the length humans will go to for survival, and the point at which all hope is lost, which may be too bleak for younger children.

Naurzalijeva’s illustrations, presented in the form of roughly-hewn, back-lit sketches, are particularly effective in conveying the isolation of setting. Each illustration gives readers a glimpse into the simplicity of village life, from the clapboard homes to the straw-filled stalls where the cattle lay. The dark skies, the falling snow and the ever-present mountains emphasize the village’s isolation, while the shadowed eyes of the villagers speak of unimaginable despair. The essence of Jimmy’s energy and determination is especially well-captured by Naurzalijeva, underscoring the message of hope. As with the storyline, the illustrations could be construed as being ominous by younger children, but each illustration complements Wadsworth’s story exceptionally well.

All in all, A Bell for Jimmy is a work of substance: understated yet elegant, with a surprising amount of depth for a children’s book that will appeal to older children and parents alike.