Disaster at the Highland Games

Kate enjoys her Highland Dance class and is eager to participate when her teacher suggests she register for the Highland Games. Though encouraged by her teacher and mother to practice at home, Kate finds dancing alone in her room boring and instead goes out to play.

When the day of the games arrives, Kate does well with the first dance, the fling. The second dance, the sword dance, brings disaster. Kate kicks one of the swords across the stage, hitting the piper in the ankles and knocking him off the stage. Like dominoes toppled in a line, the caber toss, the concession stands and demonstration tents, and the pipe band are disturbed, and the penned sheep are freed to add to the havoc. Eventually the sheep cause the tent over the stage to collapse. Kate cries for help and, when rescued, vows to practice next year.

The temptation to write a picture book in four-line rhyming stanzas, with the rhyme pattern, abcb, is very strong, Riel Nason, obviously could not resist it. Unfortunately, she never achieves a rhythm to her lines, and her rhymes are often painfully weak or nonexistent. This is unfortunate as the events in the story are amusing and charming, no one is seriously injured, and Kate learns a valuable lesson.

The illustrations, by Nathasha Pilotte, are delightful. They are well-designed to follow the text, gracefully leaving room for text blocks. The use of watercolour with line drawings provides details that suggest the setting rather than trying for accuracy. Dynamic triangles symbolize conflict, as on page 9, when a friend playing outside, Kate’s mother holding the baby, and Kate putting on her shoes are the three points that demonstrate Kate’s refusal to practice at home.

The faces of the characters are wonderfully expressive. For example, on pages 12 and 13, Kate’s expression of desperate concentration as she kicks the sword, the piper’s red cheeked surprise as he tries to leap away from the sword, and the judge’s unbelieving surprise as the piper tips into her lap are excellent. The five drawings of the competitor in the caber toss as he is surprised by the sound of the pipes and gradually, though he desperately struggles to save his toss, loses control, are very amusing.

And the sheep, the gleeful escaping sheep, quite steal the show.

Do the wonderful illustrations and general storyline save the book from the dreadful attempt at poetry? If you have a bunch of aspiring highland dancers, maybe. If you are down to the last $16.00 in your library budget, maybe not. I’ve read the book at least ten times, and the unrhythmic poetry trips me up every time.