Review - Mr. Big by Carol and Matt Dembicki
A nature tale about wetlands survival and the cycle of life unfolds as a suspense thriller, complete with a murder conspiracy and a plot twist involving just who really is the villain in the tale. Carol and Matt Dembicki’s “Mr. Big” delivers in its revelation of nature as an unsentimental and logical system that still involves passion and drama.
As spring begins, the inhabitants of a certain pond are faced with the regular cycle of life. Much as spring heralds new life, it also is marked by death and in this pond its messenger is often the mysterious and silent Mr. Big, a lumbering but deadly snapping turtle who lurks in a sewer pipe waiting for kills.
A conspiracy between fish and crayfish — followed by frogs and other creatures — begins in order to enlist a rebellion for the assassination of the killer turtle. Matters are complicated further when the crows are brought into the scheme and the existence of another, possibly more dangerous creature is brought to everyone’s attention. As the plot spirals out of control and the result of the creatures’ actions become less sure, the Dembickis bring their tale into a philosophical rumination on the balance of nature, the place of death in life and the real ecological scourge of invasive species on an ecosystem.
“Mr. Big” is a great book for kids and adults, mixing genre excitement with natural science, utilizing human personalities in the animals just enough to draw you in and illustrate the themes fluidly. As a result, “Mr. Big” is a multi-faceted look, also, into the psychology of how human’s perceive nature and what realistic steps we can take to understand the way the world works — and perhaps even apply it to our own human condition.
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