Review by New York Times Review
WHETHER THEY'RE ARRIVING by boat, plane or a great gust of wind, characters in three new picture books find themselves in unknown territory. Their stories focus not on the voyage over but on the complex journey that begins upon arrival, as they learn how to navigate a puzzling new world until it gradually turns into a place that feels like home. While many children's books about the experience of immigration are rooted in particular cultures and histories, all three of these books emphasize the universal aspects of acclimating to the unfamiliar. Perhaps there is no better way to evoke the universal than by enlisting the help of small forest animals, which the illustrator Camilla Engman does to delightful effect in "The Voyage." An endearing, muddy-colored duck neatly packs up a knapsack and then is swept up and "blown so far that you forget who you are and where you come from." Veronica Salinas maintains this second-person narration throughout, inviting readers to identify with the duck's feeling of dislocation as it explores a landscape of flowering cactuses and succulents quite different from the cool birches and pines it left behind. The simple, gratifying shapes of Engman's vegetation look a little like Matisse's paper cutouts, though she works with a far more muted palette of moss and plum, coffee and slate. She draws the supporting cast of characters - hedgehogs, birds, foxes, turtles and a resourceful ant - with a clean, deliberate hand and a well-modulated sense of whimsy. In its new environment the duck encounters first a fly, then a fish, then a mouse, and poses the same question to each: "Do you know who I am?" When they reply in a language the duck cannot understand, it sits down on a rock and weeps. The existential nature of its question suggests that coming to a new place entails not just loneliness or confusion or homesickness but a disconcerting loss of self. Only when the duck meets a mallard who "looks a little like you" does it receive the affirmation it's been seeking; the mallard says, "You are who you are," and the duck is then free to laugh and play, soon adopting the local language and learning to savor its surroundings. The text, translated from Norwegian by Jeanne Eirheim, feels slightly stiff at times, but the wit and inventiveness of the artwork make this voyage memorable. Patti Kim forgoes text altogether in her winsome "Here I Am," the story of a boy from an unspecified Asian country arriving in New York to build a new life with his parents and baby sister. Sonia Sánchez's freewheeling, richly colored panels overlap and bleed into one another, mirroring the child's rapid shifts from wonder to trepidation to longing, as well as the absorbing, ever-changing rhythms of city life. Kim and Sánchez bring to their lively pages the heightened perceptions of the recently arrived. From the startling whoosh of pigeons' wings to the click of coins deposited in a parking meter to the reflective shine of the polished airport floor, everything in this new world is worth noticing. From the moment he lands at J.F.K., the images vibrate with energy and detail: passengers milling about the international terminal, a swift cab ride through the city at night, streets thronged with pedestrians and adorned with bright, indecipherable signs. The boy starts out feeling isolated and unhappy, but then embarks on a solo journey through his neighborhood that culminates in the making of a friend and a newfound sense of belonging. Like Kim, the actress Julianne Moore sets her new picture book in a colorful, bustling, Manhattan-like metropolis - but hers stretches luxuriously across double-page spreads. The whole book displays generous proportions: large trim size, exuberant artwork, bigness of heart. Moore, who also explored difference in her Freckleface Strawberry picture books, offers an original twist on the immigrant narrative by speaking in the voices of first-generation children coming to terms with the ways their mothers are different from native-born moms. In an era when the word "foreign" has been largely replaced by "international," the title of Moore's book, "My Mom Is a Foreigner, but Not to Me," may sound outof-date or discordant (and this may very well be some children's first time hearing the term), but the book deliberately plays upon both senses of the word: a person who comes from another country, and also someone who does not belong - a stranger. With insight, empathy and humor, Moore and the gifted illustrator Meilo So delve into the paradox of being a first-generation kid: the most deeply familiar person in your world appears strange or unfamiliar to others. Though the mothers depicted hail from countries as varied as Scotland, Italy and Japan, their children share the same dawning awareness: "There's lots of stuff about her that sometimes seems so weird." These moms might dress differently, cook "funny kinds of foods" or shout "Mon petit chou!" from the sidelines of soccer games. They might celebrate different holidays, sing songs in other languages, or twist one's hair into "strange old-fashioned braids." Using a variety of typefaces to represent a chorus of distinct voices, Moore captures the children's complicated mix of feelings: embarrassment, defiance, pride, appreciation and, most palpably, love. She manages to do so while sticking to a jaunty rhyme scheme, and though the text sometimes sits uneasily within the meter, the lilting verses make the book a treat to read aloud. Paired with So's glorious hand-painted illustrations, they send the message that having a "foreign mom" is, above all, a whole lot of fun. SARAH SHUN-LIEN BYNUM'S most recent book is "Ms. Hempel Chronicles."
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 13, 2013]
Review by Booklist Review
This contemplative, wordless picture book weaves the tale of a young immigrant boy's first journey to his new home in America. Overcome by the foreign city and its lights, noisiness, alien shapes, and new language depicted in nonsensical letters and symbols the boy takes solace in a single red seed pocketed from his past, which he carries with him everywhere and which inspires colorful flights of imagination. When the seed falls out of his brownstone window, he ventures beyond his fear to discover generosity, friendship, and a new beginning, sharing the things about his past that he loves in his new place. Kim's tale is well wrought without the use of words and tailor-made for emerging readers, and it's perfectly matched by Sanchez's truly wonderful, sprawling art and colors, bringing the city to life in an understated yet warm crescendo. Here I Am is a unique, smart, and welcoming book designed for starting fresh and softening fears.--Spanner, Ben Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a nearly wordless picture book, Kim and Sanchez examine the difficulties, adjustments, and eventual triumphs that accompany one boy's transition from an unspecified Asian nation to New York City with his family. The book's very wordlessness highlights the boy's unfamiliarity with English-signs on storefronts read as gibberish; a teacher neatly writes "bla bla bla" on the chalkboard-and Sanchez's palette veers from the dull tans and grays of the airport to the shocking blue and yellow lights of the city at night with a page turn. The boy is initially despondent, cranky, lonely, and bored-his only comfort is a red seed he carries, a memento of home. When that seed finds its way into the pocket of a girl skipping rope outside the boy's brownstone, he's finally drawn into the city, learning to embrace street food, friendly pigeons, and the smells wafting from a corner cafe. For children who have moved to an unfamiliar country or town, it's a sensitive reminder that they are not alone; for others, it'll be an eye-opening window into what those kids are going through. Ages 5-10. Illustrator's agent: Teresa Kietlinski, Prospect Agency. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5-In this visually impactful wordless book, Kim tells the story of a young boy who immigrates with his family to a new country. Scared and uncomfortable, the child keeps a seed from his homeland as solace in the midst of the unfamiliar surroundings, classmates, and language. When he loses it, the youngster goes out to explore and finds new wonders, from the neighborhood pretzel stand to making friends to discovering the rewards of planting old seeds in new soil. Sanchez's engaging mixed-media illustrations are expressive and effectively utilize white space. The innovative page layout and design significantly incorporate graphic-novel elements to tell the story, using panels of differing sizes, line color, and width, and superimposing panels on a larger background image. Kim and Sanchez have created a unique picture book that explores important themes relevant to many young readers, including immigration and adjusting to a new home.-Ted McCoy, Oakland Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
This wordless graphic novelstyle picture book, told through detailed, mixed-media panel illustrations, explores one boys life after he and his family immigrate to America. The first panel shows the sad little guy looking with trepidation out the airplane window at the skyscrapers of his new city. Arriving at the airport, hes greeted by signs he cant read (illustrations show random letters and numbers), with shades of grays and browns reflecting his misery and trepidation. The only bright spot is a small red seed, carefully carried from home, in his pocket. Once ensconced in his new home, the boy lives an isolated life, refusing every opportunity to interact with the outside worlduntil one day, he accidentally drops the red seed out of his brownstone window. A little girl picks it up, and his search for her finally draws him out of his loneliness, leading him into an exploration of his new neighborhood and to his first friendship. Newcomers to any country, and the adults who work with immigrant children and their families, will find a lot to talk about here. (An appended authors note describes Kims own experiences when she moved with her family from Korea to the United States as a child.) Read this alongside Alikis Marianthes Story (rev. 9/98) or pair it with Shaun Tans The Arrival (rev. 11/07) for older children. robin l. smith (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Beautiful, evocative pictures tell the story of a boy who comes from an Asian land to a big U.S. city. Images in this virtually wordless, slender graphic novel range from dreamlike curlicues to bold, dark cityscapes and emotional vignettes. The boy looks out of the window of a plane, great sadness in his body language. He and his father, mother and baby sister go through a crowded airport and a noisy and bewildering city to a small apartment. He finds the subway and the streets confusing, and he does not understand anything at school. The boy cherishes a red seed he has evidently brought from home. By accident, he drops it out the apartment window and then goes on a frantic search for it, finding new and interesting places along the way. He discovers he loves big, salted pretzels and shares some with the pigeons. When a girl with bouncy braids and beads in her hair climbs a tree and hangs upside down, the red seed falls out of her pocket. She and the boy plant it together, and as the seasons pass, friendship, seed and baby sister grow. An author's note describes the storyteller's voyage at age 4 from Korea to Washington, D.C. Snchez has captured a kaleidoscope of emotion and powerful sensations in a way children will grasp completely. It's The Arrival for younger readers. (Graphic novel. 5-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
