Surprise

Mies van Hout’s new work, Surprise, offers us a deceptively simple lens into early parenting. But beware, accompanying the exceedingly minimal text, Van Hout illustrates a series of spare, scratchy and colourful bird families that give such expression to the tribulations of becoming a parent. Here is a book that every new parent will delight in.

Van Hout’s work is set up in two-page spreads, each offering one verb and one bird vignette. The birds differ between pages, letting us peek into many bird families all threaded through with the experiences of early parenting. The spread for the word “expecting” features a fat red mama bird atop three dozing eggs. In each egg, a tiny bird is painted with a delicate eyelid and saturated tones. The feathered largeness of the mother, against the fragility of the unborn chicks, is breathtaking; “expecting” hangs between each member of the family.

Surprise would be a wonderful way to structure an art practice for young children: pairing a verb and an animal embodying it. Materials such as chalk pastels, paint and found objects would fit perfectly. While young children will likely wonder about the artworks and ask probing questions about the bird families, themselves, it is parents who will feel resoundingly seen by this work. A beautiful book to wonder over with our youngest readers, and a fantastic book to tuck into the art room shelf.