The Tiny Portrait

The Tiny Portrait is a tale of a brother and sister who discover their family’s memory box of old heirlooms. Inside the box, they come upon a tiny tin-type with a vivid photo of Lottie and her dog Pearl. Taking the tin-type to her room, Tess sees similarities between her and the woman from 1890. That night, wind from an open window blows the tin-type to the floor. When Tess picks it up, the photo is faded, looking its age. Toby spots the same dog in the picture in their yard and the children chase it to find out more. They learn about family trees in the library, tin-types in an antiques store, and follow Lottie and Pearl to the train station, where the pair ultimately travels away.

Short, fascinating poems move the story forward and the brown-toned photos are beautiful and brilliantly rendered. However, the book’s passive writing does not build tension well. Story transitions are slight and written passively. It felt like someone was “telling” the story vs. “showing” the story. While the photography and poems might pull this reviewer through the book, this particular rendering of the story does not.