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Sep 30, 2024 By Frank Valish

Carson Ellis is an award winning children’s book author and illustrator whose work has graced books such as Trenton Lee Stewart’s The Mysterious Benedict Society and Lemony Snicket’s The Composer Is Dead, as well as her own books Home and Du Iz Tak?.

Ellis is probably better know in indie-rock circles for the artwork she’s done for the albums of her husband, Colin Meloy’s band, The Decemberists. One Week in January is a short book for adults that chronicles one week in January of 2001, after Ellis moved to Portland, Oregon, moved in with a group of other artists, and began a friendship with the man who ultimately became her future husband. The book is taken from Ellis’ journals of the time, organized as journal entries and accompanied by new artwork.

The book is a one-sitting read, a quick snapshot of a youthful time, when Ellis was finding herself artistically and The Decemberists were simply a nascent Portland band. As such, it is a snippet memory time capsule, but it evokes the universal remembrance of youth in all its vibrance, ordinariness, and promise. Ending with an acknowledgement section including some profundities on marriage and lyrics to The Decemberists’ “Grace Cathedral Hall,” a song which was in its early stages of development during that winter, One Week in January packs a great punch in a small package, a worthwhile memory of how we were all young once. (www.chroniclebooks.com)

Author rating: 7/10