Every now and then a special book comes along that is delightfully different and memorable, and This Is a Door by Daniel Nayeri is one of them. It’s a heroic fairy tale about a boy named Nothing the Younger—Ing for short—who is alone, penniless and trying to pinpoint his purpose in life. Much like the beloved The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, it’s a story ripe for contemplation by readers of all ages, from young children to adults.
This Is a Door has the classic elements of a hero’s quest, with Ing accompanied by two sidekicks: a wise mouse named mOmO and a rambunctious dog named Pöppy, who provides plenty of comic relief. With reverberating words of wisdom from a beloved figure, Nana, the trio set out to help Ing find his father and “discover his best purpose.” They encounter grand, wildly unexpected challenges, of course, such as a dragon and a creature called a wimmelworm. There are also plenty of jaw-dropping plot twists.
Nayeri challenged himself to rely only on text for illustrations, and the results are stunning, reinforcing the mighty power of words. Paragraphs morph into shapes, showing, for instance, a cart that Ing cleverly assembles. Giant letters clash and explode. Text sizes and> Everything Sad Is Untrue, for instance, is based on his family’s immigration from Iran to Oklahoma when he was a boy, while Newbery Honor-winning The Teacher of Nomad Land is a World War II story about two orphans set in Iran. This Is a Door marks yet another of Nayeri’s virtuoso performances, offering wisdom and wonder for all.