Review by Booklist Review
The Seoul, Korea subway network rumbles endlessly--ba-dum, ba-dum--under the streets and across the Han River, as people crowd aboard. The subway knows the passengers: Mr. Wanju, the businessman; Granny, who smells like the abalone she catches for her granddaughter; Yu-seon, the busy mom; Mr. Jae-sung, the shoe repairman; Na-yoon, the exhausted student; Mr. Won, the glove vendor; and more. And the subway holds them all in its embrace until they disembark. This translation of the Korean best-selling picture book is a rhythmic, soothing journey that celebrates the unique lives of passing strangers and the transience of the transit experience. The way that the first-person narrative bounces between the train and some (but not all) of its passengers is certainly atypical for a traditional American narrative, but luscious and lovely in its unfamiliarity. The watercolor technique of translucent people coming into color as the train "meets" them is fascinating, and a semi-anthropomorphized narrator who has known some of its passengers since they were born and can recognize others by their shoes alone is captivating and wholly original.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A translation by Smith brings Kim's sensitive, closely observed portraits of Seoul's subway passengers to English-speaking readers. The subway itself narrates ("On my travels I meet so many people and things"), its words punctuated with the rails' constant "ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum" and passengers' autobiographical thoughts. Graceful, luminous watercolors convey strength and delicacy; Kim handles with equal skill the workings of the train, the architecture of the stations, and the figures and expressions of the passengers. There's Mr. Wanju, a businessman, dashing for the gate and eager to spend time with his daughter ("I always leave first,/ to run home and see her smile"), while Granny takes seafood from the coast to family in the city ("I'm going to cook a feast for my girls!"). Though some of the encounters raise questions that the story itself doesn't address, in this quiet treasure of a tale, every person in the crowd has a story, a family they love, and dreams they cherish. Ages 4--7. (Aug.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--As the train narrating Kim's enthralling book travels both above- and underground, so it reveals passengers' visible and hidden dimensions. It carries "busy hearts" as a father sprints, to maximize time with his daughter; a diving granny who carries seafood to her daughter and granddaughter; a weary and fretful student returning from an afterschool hagwon tutoring; a small-time entrepreneur hawking gloves. Details--like the harried mom politely called "Aunty," the tiny, crammed shoe-repair shop, streetscapes, and station names--ground the book in Seoul. Both sober ink and glorious watercolor washes suggest more than they show, of the place and the people: a kind, unemployed young man adds the only color to a bustling commute; a train aisle looks like green grass; faces are distinct and expressive but soft. Particular to Seoul but also universal, this book carries no tropes or types, just "unique lives of strangers," as the train's rhythmic ba-dum ba-dum comes to sound like a heartbeat. This is the work of an accomplished and prolific illustrator who is an equally gifted writer. VERDICT For transportation fans, and all who love scenes of diversity, Smith's sensitive translation of Kim's poetic text makes this a trip not to be missed, taking every open-eyed, open-hearted reader on board.--Patricia D. Lothrop, formerly St. George's Sch., Newport, RI
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A mass-transit vehicle conveys the life of a metropolis from dawn to dusk. In this picture book, a subway train shares intimate stories while ferrying passengers around Seoul. Its mechanical, rhythmic, motion--"ba-dum, ba-dum"--echoes the city's heartbeat, pulsating through a collective memory and quotidian history. Together, readers encounter myriad travelers and glimpse individual lives: Mr. Wanju rushing to and from work, yearning to be with his daughter; Granny returning from the sea with the morning's catch to "cook a feast for [her] girls"; Lee Do-young, 29, jobless, "not sure what's next." Watercolor washes establish figures and shapes at once suggestive and formalistic; artful lines and gradations detail features, facial expressions, and hairstyles, defining unique human beings amid a sea of anonymity. Jung Yu-seon--former "cry-baby, sleepy-head, scaredy-cat"--whirls between household chores and child care, maintaining a frenetic pace from which she takes respite in the subway's "embrace." As a witness, this anthropomorphized vehicle poetically parallels the cobbler Mr. Jae-sung, because they both can "tell so much about a person just from looking at their shoes" and "guess the paths they might have walked." Reflective observations, along with the circuitous route, create dynamic tension against the train's linear trajectory and the passage of time, prompting readers to pause--and perhaps ponder the fleeting encounters with "strangers you might never meet again." A contemplative, poignant rendering of everyday journeys. (Picture book. 5-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
