Black History Month~ Canada

African American History Month~ USA

National African American Read-in~  USA

National Year of Reading~ Australia

National Storytelling Week~ ongoing until Feb 4, United Kingdom

Kolkata Book Fair~ ongoing until Feb 6, Kolkata, India

Japanese Children’s Literature: A History from the International Library of Children’s Literature Collections~ ongoing until Feb 12, Tokyo, Japan

Celebrating 20 years of Philippine Children’s Book Illustration Exhibit~ ongoing until Feb 26, Manila, Philippines

Taipei Book Fair~ Feb 1 -6, Taipei, Taiwan

28 Days Later: A Black History Celebration of Children’s and YA Lit~ Feb 1 – 29, USA

Children’s Literature Symposium: The Same Text but Different: Variants in Children’s Media~ Feb 3 – 4, Sarasota, FL, USA

Pratham Book Events at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival~ Feb 4 – 12, Mumbai, India

2012 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour~ Feb 5 – 10

Seminar : Illustrating Children’s books in the Folk Art Traditions of India~ Feb 8, Mumbai, India

MA Children’s Book Illustration Exhibit~ Feb 8 – 15, London, United Kingdom

The Association of Writers and Illustrators for Children (AWIC) Presents an International Conference on Book Therapy~ Feb 9 – 11, New Delhi, India

Imagine Children’s Festival~ Feb 10 – 26, London, United Kingdom

Writer-in-Residence Launch: Meet Sarah Ellis~ Feb 11, Toronto, ON, Canada

47th ACELT Conference: Reading Ourselves, Reading the World~ Feb 11, Manila, Philippines

International Book Giving Day~ Feb 14

2011 Cybils (the Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards) Winners Announced~ Feb 14

First Nations Public Library Week~ Feb 14 – 19, Province of Ontario, Canada

Chapter & Verse’s (A Book Club for Adults Discussing Children’s Lit) Discussion of ALA/ALSC Award Winners Feb 15, USA

Sun Gallery’s Twenty-third Annual Children’s Book Illustrator Exhibit~ Feb 15 -  Apr 7, Hayward, CA, USA

SCBWI Caribbean Book Chat Via Skype~ Feb 16

All In! Young Writers Media Festival~ Feb 18 – 19, Singapore

International Mother Language Day~ Feb 21

Centre for Youth Literature’s 21st Birthday Celebration~ Feb 21 -  22, Melbourne, Australia

Cooperative Children’s Book Centre Webinar~ Feb 22, USA

Words Take Wing: Honoring Diversity in Children’s Literature~ Feb 23, Davis, CA, USA

Exhibit at the Vilnius Book Fair – Iliustrarium: Children’s Book Illustrations in Modern Lithuania~ Feb 23 – 26, Vilnius, Lithuania

Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable Presents Serendipity 2012: Year of the Dragon: Asian Themes for Young Canadian Readers. Speakers include PaperTigers (!!), Allen Say, Paul Yee and Lisa Yee~ Feb 24 – 25, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Indianapolis Youth Literature Conference~ Feb 25, Indianapolis, IN, USA

20th Annual Hubbs Children’s Literature Conference~ Feb 25, St. Paul, MN, USA

Biennial ISSCL Conference: Is féidir linn! [Yes we can!]: Politics and Ideology in Children’s Literature~ Feb 25 – 26, Dublin, Ireland

Freedom to Read Week~ Feb 26 – Mar 3, Canada

MA Children’s Book Illustration Exhibit~ Feb 29 – Mar 15, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books Exhibition: Secret Gardens~ ongoing until Mar 3, Toronto, ON, Canada

Look! the Art of Australian Picture Books Today~ ongoing until Mar 4, Brisbane, Australia

Growing up Asian in America Contest~ submissions accepted until Mar 12, San Francisco, CA, USA

Ilustarte: 5th International Biennial Exhibition of Children’s Books Illustration ~ ongoing until Apr 8, Lisbon, Portugal

Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award 2013~ submissions accepted until Dec 31, 2012, Great Britain

Fremantle Children’s Literature Centre Exhibits and Programs~ Fremantle, Australia

Dromkeen National Centre for Picture Book Art Exhibits~ Riddells Creek, Australia

Books Illustrated Events and Exhibitions~ Middle Park, Australia

Tulika Books Author and Illustrator Events~ India

International Library of Children’s Literature Events~ Tokyo, Japan

International Youth Library Exhibits~ Munich, Germany

Newcastle University Programme of Talks on Children’s Books for 2011-2012~ Newcastle, United Kingdom

Seven Stories (the National Home of Children’s Books in Britain) Events~ Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom

Discover Children’s Story Centre~ London, United Kingdom

Events Sponsored by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress~ USA

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art~ Amherst, MA, USA

The National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature Exhibits~ Abilene, TX, USA

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Events

A fabulous selection of books heads the awards list for this year’s Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) Awards, announced on Monday. The winners in the children’s/YA categories are:

The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang (Scholastic, 2011)  – Children’s Literature Award;

Orchards by Holly Thompson (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2011) – Young Adult Literature Award;

The House Baba Built: An Artist’s Childhood in China by Ed Young (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2011) -  Picture Book Award.

The Honor Books were:

Vanished by Sheela Chari (Hyperion, 2011) – Honor Book, Children’s Literature Category.

Level Up by Gene Luen Yang (First Second Books, 2011) – Honor Book in the Young Adult Literature category.

Hot Hot Roti for Dada-ji by F. Zia, illustrated by Ken Min (Lee & Low Books, 2011) – Honor Book in the Picture Book category.

And following on from Corinne’s post about some of this year’s ALA Awards, here are some more highlights:

Allen Say‘s Drawing from Memory (Scholastic, 2011) has won a 2012 Robert F. Sibbert Informational Book Honor Award. To see all this year’s winners go here. Read our Q&A with Andrea Pinkney, the book’s editor, here.

As well as being outright winner of the 2012 Pura Belpré Author Award, Under the Mesquite, by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Lee and Low Books, 2011), was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, along with Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (Philomel Books, 2011). Go here to find out more.

What a superb selection of books!  Many Congratulations to all the winners.

The relationship between an author and his or her editor is not necessarily foremost in a reader’s mind when enjoying a book, but there’s no doubt that it’s important. I was struck when reading Allen Say‘s latest book Drawing from Memory (Scholastic, 2011) by a comment he made in his moving Author’s Note: “When my editor, Andrea Pinkney, and I first talked about the book, she asked me if it was possible to include some of my master’s work in it. The thought had never occurred to me; I didn’t think any of Sensei’s work could be found today.” So began the quest to seek out some of Noro Shinpei’s work – and Say did eventually bring together some wonderful examples in Drawing from Memory, including himself as a cartoon character, which must resonate as a dream come true for many of todays’ young readers. Say himself would probably agree that the book is all the richer for exploring Noro Shinpei’s work in more depth: indeed, his description of the quest shows clearly what those channels in his graphic narrative meant to him. So we are delighted to welcome Andrea Pinkney to the PaperTigers Blog to answer a few questions about Drawing from Memory, as well as her current projects as Vice President and Executive Editor with Scholastic Trade.

Andrea is also an acclaimed author of children’s books herself, including Coretta King Honor Picture Books Let It Shine! Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters, illustrated by Stephen Alcorn (Gulliver Books, Harcourt), and Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, illustrated by her husband Brian Pinkney (Hyperion Books for Children) – as well as novels such as, most recently, Bird in a Box (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2011). You can read an in-depth interview with Andrea about her own writing at The Brown Bookshelf here, and more about her career as an editor here.

I believe Drawing from Memory is Allen Say’s first book published by Scholastic.  How and why did Scholastic acquire the book?

We’re so proud and happy to welcome Allen Say to Scholastic! Drawing from Memory marks an important and exciting change of direction for Allen. He is known by many for his work as a brilliant picture book creator, and Caldecott medallist. But in this book, Allen extends his talent to create a stunning work that is part memoir, part graphic novel, part narrative history. With Scholastic’s tremendous reach into schools, to teachers, and to young readers through our vibrant distribution channels ― including Scholastic Book Clubs and Book Fairs ― along with our Trade publishing program, we felt strongly that Drawing from Memory was the perfect vehicle for giving Allen Say a new publishing home.

What was your involvement in the editorial process?  Were there any particularly special moments for you?

I believe an editor’s role is to hold the flashlight while an author and illustrator digs for gold. In the case of Drawing from Memory, Allen delved into his own internal creative fountain to reveal a story that is intensely personal to him ― his journey to becoming the artist that he is today. My job was simply to guide that process, and to work with Allen to illuminate the most relevant aspects of his narrative. As for special moments, Allen is an incredible storyteller. So each and every time we spoke about the particulars of his incredible life and how these would be included in the book, Allen imparted some new detail about his childhood that always brought me to tears of wonder.

What is your favourite part of the book?

This is like asking which of your children is your favorite! I’m hard pressed to find one part of Drawing from Memory that I like more than another. I will say, though, that the moment when Allen knocks on the door of Noro Shinpei, Japan’s premier cartoonist, and the man who becomes Allen’s spiritual father, always fills me with a feeling of awe ― that this eager kid is about to enter a world that will change the course of his life forever.

How do you think Drawing from Memory fits in with Allen’s previous books, in particular the semi-autobiographical The Ink-Keeper’s Apprentice? 

In Drawing from Memory Allen takes his creative talents to greater heights by pushing the boundaries of bookmaking with a work that is an impressive amalgam of art styles, text, and perspectives.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

There are always exciting things brewing in our shop! Next fall we’ll publish a novel by Sonia Manzano, the Emmy Award-winning actress who has played the role of Maria on Sesame Street for more than 40 years. Also, multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner, Sharon G. Flake, is at work on a new novel. And the very busy and creative Allen Say has his paintbrush whipping up new books for Scholastic.

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!

PaperTigers is thrilled to announce we will be taking part in the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable Conference “Serendipity” this coming February in Vancouver, BC, Canada. PaperTigers Editor Marjorie Coughlan will be flying in from the UK and joining me at this exciting event which will focus on the Year of the Dragon: Asian Themes for Young Canadian Readers. For those of you in the Vancouver area this is a definitely not-to-be-missed conference: the three featured speakers are Allen Say, Rachna Gilmore and Paul Yee!

The following details have just been released and registration is now open:

Serendipity 2012
Year of the Dragon: Asian Themes for Young Canadian Readers

Saturday, February 25, 2012; 8:30 am – 3:30 pm (includes lunch & snacks)
The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
Neville Scarfe Building; Room 100

Featuring:

Rachna Gilmore,  Allen Say  and  Paul Yee

With Special Guests:

Tanya Kyi, winner of the 2011 Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award,
Marjorie Coughlan and Corinne Robson, Editors from PaperTigers.org
Joseph Wu, origami master, and
the fabulous dance troupe, Shiamak’s Bollywood Dancers

 ”We are kicking off the weekend celebration of literature and literacy for young people with what we hope is the inaugural event of a soon-to-be-great Serendipity tradition:

 The Gala Evening Event

February 24, 2012; 6:30pm
University Golf Club,
5185 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC.

Co hosted with the British Columbia Literacy Council, the featured speaker is Dr. Lee Gunderson from the Department of Language and Literacy at the University of British Columbia, who will be presenting on ‘Comprehensibility and Children’s Literature: Reading in Multilingual Classrooms.’

To register to attend Serendipity and/or the Gala Evening Event click here or visit www.vclr.ca. Early bird rates are in effect until  January 21st  but don’t wait too long to purchase as the events are sure to sell out!  We do hope you will be able to join us!”

Allen Say,
Drawing from Memory
Scholastic Press, 2011.

Ages 10+

Before even opening Allen Say’s latest book, the play on words of the title, Drawing from Memory, gives the reader a frisson of anticipation, enhanced by the simple cover illustration, a self-portrait of a young Allen Say floating, perhaps, in contemporary consideration of what has now become past. By the time we meet the illustration again in its context of an elated twelve-year-old Say having moved into his own one-room apartment, we are well and truly engrossed. Both before and after that defining moment in Say’s life, drawing is central to his existence. His childhood was not straightforward but Say recounts it with a lightness of touch in both words and pictures that is perfectly attuned to his readership. My favourite is perhaps the juxtaposition of a very small Allen drawing, drawing, drawing. Next along, a small boy walks away from his latest work, as his parents look in anger (father) and horror (mother) at the wall that has been turned into an artist’s canvas. The accompanying text, meanwhile, gives his father’s veto of art as a career for his son. This balance of humor and underlying tensions continues through the book, which ends with Say’s departure for America at the age of fifteen, “ready to start a new life with what I could carry on my back.”

Devotees of Say’s work will find vignettes linking to his previous books: however, the greatest parallels can be drawn with Say’s autobiographical novel The Ink Keeper’s Apprentice, for which Drawing from Memory is an absolutely must-have companion. For here at last is a full portrait of the real Sensei Noro Shinpei, the famous cartoonist to whom Say rather precociously and wholly pivotally apprenticed himself. Included in the narrative are photographs, nuggets of wisdom, and absorbing examples of Shinpei’s work. These include two cartoon characters that were Say and his fellow-apprentice Tokida, getting out of all sorts of scrapes. How wonderful is that! Further background about his later contact with Shinpei, who died in 2002, is given in Say’s moving Afterword.

Throughout the book, Say provides many vivid portraits: as well as his family, Sensei and Tokida, there is his art teacher Miss Goldfish, and her former pupil Orito-san, who taught Say karate as well as drawing from classical sculpture. And through it all is the self-portrait of a young man: his determination to be an artist no matter what, set against a complex family background and the cultural context of post-war Japan.

The story of Say’s childhood is a compelling one. It is fitting that, as an artist, he should tell it through pictures as well as words: and indeed, Say’s skilful combination of illustration and writing renders this account a masterpiece of graphic storytelling.

Marjorie Coughlan
December 2011

Since my last update on this year’s PaperTigers Reading the World Challenge, we have added some great books to our list.

Together, we have read two new autobiographical picture books: Allen Say’s Drawing from Memory (Scholastic, 2011) and Ed Young’s The House Baba Built (Little, Brown and Company, 2011) – both wonderful, and I’m not going to say much more about them here as we will be featuring both of them more fully on PaperTigers soon. Those are our reading-together non-fiction books for the Challenge.

As our local book, we tried reading a book of folk tales from the North York Moors, where we live in the UK, but discovered the stories formed part of a tourist guide, including instructions for getting around… we extracted what we could but it wasn’t a very satisfactory read. It has made us not take beautifully illustrated and retold folk tales for granted!

Older Brother has read Rainbow World: Poems from Many Cultures edited by Bashabi Fraser and Debjani Chatterjee , and illustrated by Kelly Waldek (Hodder Children’s Books, 2003).  He dipped in and out of it through the summer break and we had to renew it from the library several times…

Older Brother has also been totally captivated by A Thousand Cranes: Origami Projects for Peace and Happiness. After reading the story of Sadako for the Reading Challenge way back in its first year, he’s wanted to know how to make the cranes but I have two left hands when it comes to origami – or at least I thought I did, until I received a review copy of A Thousand Cranes from Stone Bridge Press.  Recently revised and expanded from the original book by renowned origami expert Florence Temko, it’s a super little book, with good clear instructions for beginners like us, and giving background about both the offering of a thousand origami cranes as a symbol of longevity, and specifically the story of Sadako and the Thousand Cranes.  Older Brother, now that he is older, (more…)

Houghton Mifflin introduced its list of books for young readers in 1937. In December of 2007 the company acquired Harcourt Education, making the combined company, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade and Reference Publishing Group the largest K-12 publisher in the world. An imprint of the company’s Children’s Book Group, Houghton Mifflin Books for Children currently publishes approximately 75-100 books a year. Ranging from picture book to young adult titles and everything in-between, its line-up of contemporary authors and illustrators includes Lois Lowry, Sy Montgomery, Claire A. Nivola, Allen Say, and more.

Kate O’Sullivan, Executive Editor at Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, answered our questions about James Rumford’s Rain School, one of the books selected for inclusion in the 2011 Spirit of PaperTigers Book Set, and about Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and the children’s publishing industry in general.

Interview by Aline Pereira, former Managing Editor of PaperTigers and currently an independent writer, editor and editorial consultant specializing in multicultural children’s books.

***

Please tell us a little bit about your path to becoming an editor.

A college course in mythology had me looking at ancillary interpretations of old texts; I came across illustrated versions of The Odyssey and Argonautica and was hooked by the merging of word and picture to relay narrative. I figured children’s books was where it’s at—not being a writer or artist myself, editor seemed like a good fit.

The publishing industry being as competitive as it is, I worked my first couple of years in college textbook publishing at St. Martin’s Press before getting through the door to children’s trade. That was thirteen years ago and I’ve never looked back!

What makes you passionate about the projects you acquire?

If I laugh, cry, or go goosebumpy, I’m sold. I’m always looking for convincing, authentic stories.

Rain School draws on the author’s experience of teaching in Chad, Africa to portray a village’s commitment to educating its children, against all odds. What first attracted you to Rain School when you first read it? Was the story already illustrated then?

Rain School is such a simple, spare story—but it packs an emotive punch. I love how it shows us that with hard work and determination, the rewards of an education can last a lifetime. And that it does this without ever feeling preachy or forced is no small feat. As with all of Jim’s projects, this one first arrived as a beautiful dummy with exuberant sketches.

Houghton Mifflin has published several of Rumford’s books.  How long have you been working with James, and how is your relationship like?

I’ve worked with Jim since his longtime editor, Amy Flynn, left Houghton in 2003. Since then we’ve worked together on Dog-of-the-Sea-Waves, Sequoyah, Beowulf, Chee-lin, and Rain School. Jim is one-of-a-kind and so are his books; he effortlessly changes his approach and art technique from project-to-project, which keeps things exciting and surprising. There isn’t anything Jim can’t do (or language he can’t speak)! He continuously outdoes himself with each new book and it’s very fun to be in his creative orbit.

Can you tell me a little bit about the actual process of bringing Rain School to life?

This manuscript was ship-shape from the beginning. The real challenge with this project was getting the color reproduction just right in proof. Luckily, the designer, Carol Goldenberg, and our production team are crackerjacks at what they do, so we knew we’d get there.

Is the editorial process of working with an author/illustrator (like Rumford) any different than the process of working with individuals who are solely writers, or solely artists?

Working with authors/illustrators can be a bit more organic and streamlined, as all the pieces are coming from the same source and it’s great to keep the creative flow between editor and creator clear and simple. But each dynamic yields its own advantages, such as the surprises that an illustrator can bring to a text written by someone else.

Can you tell us about some of the accolades Rain School has received since its publication, in October 2010?

Rain School was a Junior Library Guild Selection, garnered a starred review in Booklist, and was included in the Smithsonian Notable Books for Children 2010 list.

How long can the average picture book be expected to stay in print these days?

It’s hard to say. Houghton is known for creating picture books that appeal across generations, so while there are increased expenses now associated with warehousing slow-selling books, it’s always our intention when signing a book that it has a long, vigorous life.

Did you have a favorite book as a child?

I have clear memories of poring over Martha Sanders and Philippe Fix’s Alexander and the Magic Mouse. The artwork was luminous and the story made me want to befriend the misunderstood gator at its center. I also remember staying up late (a lot) with Black Beauty and Mrs.Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. But my hands-down favorite wasn’t discovered until high school: The Once and Future King by T.H. White.

What really excites you, or what do you think there is not enough of on the shelves at the moment?

I’ve always loved illustrated middle grade fiction. As for what I would like to see more of, I’d say literary, non-dystopian, non-supernatural YA fare.

What’s your take on the shake-up the publishing industry has been going through? Are your titles being converted to or co-published as e-books?

There’s no question that e-books are transforming the industry, not least because they’re changing our ideas about books as physical objects—and so presenting us with questions of access vs. ownership. We have a growing team at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt working on converting our books to e-formats—and tackling the unique challenges that children’s books represent in all their full-color, double-page, artful type glory.

In keeping with its position as a leading education company with a truly global network, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has recently launched The Global Education Challenge. Can you tell us about this new venture?

Everyone has an opinion about what’s wrong with the education system. The goal of HMH’s Global Education Challenge, whose submission phase is now complete and which is supported by the HMH Innovation Fund, was to provide a forum for educators, innovators, students, entrepreneurs and families to put forward their best ideas for how to transform education, inside and outside the classroom.

Ideas came from everywhere and are currently being judged by a group of experts. Prizes totaling $250,000 will be distributed among the top three winners, to be announced this month. Winners will also receive a “book allowance” for the school of their choice. You can read more about the challenge here.

I understand HMH is very committed to donating books domestically and internationally. Would you please tell us more about this?

HMH is indeed committed to donating three million books a year to under-served students who lack access to quality educational materials. With the assistance of partners like First Book, the Sabre Foundation and World Vision, it coordinates large-scale book donations, both domestically and internationally. It also gives to a wide range of organizations in the communities where it operates.

***

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions, Kate. PaperTigers is very grateful to Houghton Mifflin for its generous discount for Rain School in support of the Spirit of PaperTigers project. Congratulations on your great work, and we wish you continued success!

To find our more about Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, visit the website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Do read this lovely interview with Allen Say, which appeared in The Oregonian last week. Just the title, “Portland author and artist Allen Say’s books for children unfold in luminous dreams” tells you straightaway you’re in for a treat… Interviewer Jeff Baker shares with us his sneak preview of Say’s new book Drawing From Memory, due out next year – this promises to be something really special, a graphic novel adaptation of his autobiographical The Ink-Keepers Apprentice.

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which amounts to SEK 5 million (approx. 500 000 EUR), is awarded annually to a single recipient or to several. Authors, illustrators, oral storytellers and promoters of reading may be rewarded.  For the past two years PaperTigers has had the honor of being a nominating body for the award.

Today, the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Nominees were revealed at the Frankfurt Book Fair by the Chairman of the Jury, Mr. Larry Lempert. 175 candidates representing 62 different countries are eligible for the world’s largest children’s and young adult literature award. We are so pleased to see PaperTigers’ three nominees on the list: author and illustrator Allen Say, author and illustrator Grace Lin, and Katha, a “profit-for-all” organization based in India. You can view the complete list of nominated candidates  here.

On March 29, 2011, the winner or winners of the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award will be announced at the birthplace of Astrid Lindgren in Vimmerby, Sweden. The announcement will be held simultaneously at Bologna Book Fair and will also be broadcast live on the award website.

To keep abreast of  today’s exciting announcement and to learn more about the nominated candidates, be sure to check out the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award blog.

What a thrill to receive in the post a few days ago Allen Say‘s new book, The Boy in the Garden (Houghton Mifflin, 2010). I’ve been on tenterhooks to read it since getting a glimpse of the mock-up at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Little Brother was just as excited as I was and we read it that evening as our bedtime story.

Set in Japan, the story tells of a New Year visit that Jiro pays to a neighbor with his father, who, as is a parent’s wont, instructs him to be on his best behavior: but too busy looking around, taking in the beautiful garden for himself, “The boy did not hear him.” Jiro soon wanders through the house into the garden, where he is captivated by the statue of a crane. As he reaches out to touch it, he is disturbed by laughter behind him, from his father and Mr Ozu. Stung, he runs deeper into the garden and is suddenly carried into the world of one of the stories his mother tells him: a rather bitter-sweet tale called The Grateful Crane, which Say retells at the beginning of the book…

The Boy in the Garden is a charming story that blends realism and imagination with such a keen awareness of the child’s perspective that 9-year-old Little Brother couldn’t stop himself asking several times, “Is it really the Crane Woman?” or “Did it really happen?” The art-work is as breath-taking as one would expect – a small boy you just want to pick up and cuddle; a beautiful, ethereal Crane Woman; and the luminescent scenes filled with unobtrusive, authentic detail.

This is a perfect book for sharing together. It’s a story that will grow with young listeners until they become adults themselves: because Say’s writing is so perfectly attuned to the perspective of all his characters – and his readers. For example, I know that the significance of the adults laughing held a slightly different nuance for Little Brother than it did for me. I’ve been there; I’ve done that. Hmm, a slight feeling of guilt – but it’s washed away by the end, as father and son walk home together. Father tries to play along, only to have the cold water of reality (or is it?) thrown over him:

“You know, son, for a moment that crane looked real.”
“It’s just a statue, Papa.”

Now, how many times has that happened?! But, of course, there’s the suggestion of a twist at the very end, which keeps the uncertainty alive…

Thank you, Allen Say, for another masterpiece.