The Adventures of a Village begins like many stories do — by setting the scene. In this case, a small cluster of snow-covered buildings are intersected by winding train tracks. That’s it. What happens next is a clever play on the old Choose Your Own Adventure books — but, instead of turning pages to read ahead, their corners are folded over like narrative origami to reveal visual plot points featuring everything from UFOs to hot air balloons.
There are no words to tell the tale here, just a labyrinth of creases that can be flipped and flopped to change the illustration. In this way, each incarnation is like its own creative prompt, requiring an entirely new narration; fun for kids whose imaginations haven’t been crushed, no doubt — but, hey, this could also be a nudge for adults suffering from writer’s block. And, who knows, considering that both alien invasions and tidal waves make appearances, it could be inspiration for the next big Hollywood blockbuster, or a Twilight Zone-style where-are-all-the-people thriller.
Artist Julie Stephen Chheng is pretty adept at creating these kinds of paper projects: Poéms in Piéces allows users to construct their own teensy apartments from the printed pieces included in a plain cardboard box. Fun stuff! [Swissnex]