Dan's Papers - June 15, 2007 - Review: Chocolate at the Four Seasons

Along with illustrating Dan Rattiner's stories every week, Michael Paraskevas has illustrated eighteen children's books written by his mother, Betty. Their newest book, Chocolate at the Four Seasons, is a bit of an homage to Eloise, that mischievous little hellion who wreaked havoc all over New York City's Plaza Hotel and taught little city girls how to cut loose in even the stuffiest of situations. Chocolate's plight is quite different, as he is a tiny, timid chihuahua thrust into the glamorous world of the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. Instead of being an innate spotlight-seeker like Eloise, Chocolate comes to the hotel forlorn and unsure of himself. However, after some hugs from his new friend, a casting agent named Bonnie, and the doting staff of the Four Seasons, Chocolate begins to feel like a self-assured young pup. Soon, he finds his voice and begins entertaining all the guests of the hotel with his singing - well, howling - and dancing.

Although the story is adorable and will enchant any child who has ever felt small and unsure, the beauty of the book lies in the whimsical paintings splashed across its pages. With bold brushstrokes and characters as stylish and distinctive as the real-life clientele of the Los Angeles Four Seasons, Chocolate's world unfolds visually with each turn of a page. As the pictures are on the left side of the spread and the text on the right, the reader "reads" the images before the explanations, allowing the artist the freedom to write a more sophisticated subtext into the illustrations that might be absent in the child-friendly story. Chocolate's soulful eyes are not childish at all, and the subtle changes in his expression through out the book will intrigue adults and children alike. Details such as the reflection of the palm trees in the limousine window, coupled with Chocolate's wary, star-struck gaze and cocked ears recall shots from sophisticated Hollywood movies more than illustrated fiction, but that is all part of the Paraskevas team's charm. Little visual cues, such as Chocolate's star-covered soccer ball, which rests on his big bed at the hotel and later appears on his owner's piano in the final scene, give the reader a sense that although each painting could stand alone as its own piece of art, there is a connection between them all. As Chocolate becomes more confident, his depiction in the paintings changes. His body appears sleek and sprightly after his bath and nail trimming at the pet spa, and his crumpled, floppy ears stand erect more and more as the pages turn. By the time he is howling atop a piano, Chocolate dons black Ray Bans (a la Risky Business) and a wide, puppy dog grin. Interestingly, chocolate's owner, a piano player with a penchant for the soulful tune of "Georgia on My Mind," bears an uncanny resemblance to the painter himself - whether that was intentional or not is hard to tell. Perhaps it is just that all of the human characters in the book have such unique, detailed expressions that they seem familiar, a fact that will have adults dropping their jaws in awe and children feeling even closer to the story. Paraskevas' drawings are deceptively simple, made up of strong colors and jaunty ink outlines and shadows, yet he is able to capture the essence of Chocolate and his new friends with a sensitivity that seems almost impossible given the number of paintings in the book and the seemingly simple style.

Chocolate at the Four Seasons is not only an endearing children's book - it is a work of art. From the opening scene, with the tiny dog sizing himself up in an impossibly large mirror, to the inky blue of the hotel bed at night and the sparkling lights of the stage, each painting in the book tells a story all its own. When strung together by a simple, heartwarming story, the paintings will transport children and their parents to the big, glamorous world of Los Angeles as seen by a tiny, chocolate-colored dog.