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Grandfather's Journey (Caldecott Medal Book) (精装)
by Allen Say
| Category:
Autobiography, Picture books, Age 4-8 |
| Market price: ¥ 198.00
MSL price:
¥ 168.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Resonant and rich both in illustrations and language, Say's book is a poignant and beautiful tale of immigration experience and love for homeland. |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 6 items |
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Horn Book (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
The immigrant experience has rarely been so poignantly evoked as it is in this direct, lyrical narrative that is able to stir emotions through the sheer simplicity of its telling. |
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Publishers Weekly (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
Say transcends the achievements of his Tree of Cranes and A River Dream with this breathtaking picture book, at once a very personal tribute to his grandfather and a distillation of universally shared emotions. Elegantly honed text accompanies large, formally composed paintings to convey Say's family history; the sepia tones and delicately faded colors of the art suggest a much-cherished and carefully preserved family album. A portrait of Say's grandfather opens the book, showing him in traditional Japanese dress, "a young man when he left his home in Japan and went to see the world." Crossing the Pacific on a steamship, he arrives in North America and explores the land by train, by riverboat and on foot. One especially arresting, light-washed painting presents Grandfather in shirtsleeves, vest and tie, holding his suit jacket under his arm as he gazes over a prairie: "The endless farm fields reminded him of the ocean he had crossed." Grandfather discovers that "the more he traveled, the more he longed to see new places," but he nevertheless returns home to marry his childhood sweetheart. He brings her to California, where their daughter is born, but her youth reminds him inexorably of his own, and when she is nearly grown, he takes the family back to Japan. The restlessness endures: the daughter cannot be at home in a Japanese village; he himself cannot forget California. Although war shatters Grandfather's hopes to revisit his second land, years later Say repeats the journey: "I came to love the land my grandfather had loved, and I stayed on and on until I had a daughter of my own." The internal struggle of his grandfather also continues within Say, who writes that he, too, misses the places of his childhood and periodically returns to them. The tranquility of the art and the powerfully controlled prose underscore the profundity of Say's themes, investing the final line with an abiding, aching pathos: "The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other." |
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E. Bird (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
The pictures throughout this book are striking. Even without having known a thing about it, the cover of this book was familiar to me the minute I picked it up. Though I've only seen it briefly in bookstores and libraries, Say's illustrations do not leave a person's mind readily. Most beautiful, to my mind, are his drawings of his elderly grandfather, as well as the evocative shots of cities and mountains in the United States. Say tackles a subject that I've rarely seen even acknowledged in children's literature. It is the notion of forever being homesick for the other towns and cities you've grown to love in your life. I don't know how well this can be conveyed to children. Quite possibly, kids reading this story will understand what the author is saying on a much smaller level. If a person explains to a kid that it is like missing school/camp/a grandparent's house when one is home and vice versa, it might be comprehensible. This would be an excellent book for reading aloud to large groups. Moreover, it might pair well with other stories of immigrants coming to America. |
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Larry Mark (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
Each large page contains a faded color painting of a photo (maybe 7x8 inches) with text beneath, both by Allen Say. Allen tells the story of his grandfather, first shown in traditional Japanese attire, and next traveling by steamship to California in Western garb and bowler hat. On the next pages, we see him travel through America by riverboat, train and foot, meeting various people (red, brown, white and yellow), seeing deserts and oceans of golden amber grain, visiting rural towns and industrial cities filled with factories. Returning to Japan, he marries, and settles in San Francisco to raise a family. year later, they return to Japan, and he helps to raise his grandchild prior to WWII. Allen, the author, grows up and follows in his grandfather's footsteps, coming to America to explore. When in California, he and his grandfather long for Japan; in Japan they long for California. |
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Heather Ivester (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
I was curious about Grandfather's Journey because our local library had several copies on the shelf, and I always enjoy discovering what makes a book an award winner. Mr. Say's book won the 1994 Caldecott Medal, the same year Lois Lowry received the Newbery for her book, The Giver.
It's an understatement to say this is one of the most beautiful children's books ever written. Mr. Say gently describes his grandfather's youthful journey from Japan to America. On his three-week steamship voyage, he is astonished by the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. After embarking, he explores by train the western landscapes of enormous rock formations and endless farm fields.
During his travels, he meets people of different color, certainly a new sight for him. Say writes, "The more he traveled, the more he longed to see new places..." Eventually, his grandfather settles along the coast of California after briefly returning to Japan to marry his childhood sweetheart.
The couple have a daughter, whom we later learn is Say's mother, the subject of another stunning picture book, TEA WITH MILK. In time, the grandfather begins to miss Japan, and he decides to return to his homeland, along with his wife and grown daughter.
Say's watercolor artistry is fantastic, as his skilled brush gracefully ages each character in the book. As a parent, I imagined my own children growing up, and realized how brief is the time we call childhood. The story continues, with the grandfather's heart truly in two places, America and Japan.
Anyone who has ever traveled abroad can relate to this experience. As I read his book, I wept, because I too have lived in Japan, and part of my heart will always remain overseas. Since this initial reading, I've bought several of Say's picture books, and they have become family favorites.
The greatest literature reaches beyond its pages and connects to the hearts of its readers. Through his timeless words and portraits, Allen Say has clearly accomplished this task.
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A kid reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-02-08 00:00>
The book Grandfathers Journey is a good children's book because the pictures are very colorful and the words are very descriptive.
The narrator, the main character's grandson, is telling about how his grandfather traveled the world, and that he liked California the best of all. He staid there, and met his grandmother, got married and had a son. But he had longed for his home back in Japan. So he moved with his wife to Japan. After awhile he started missing California, and went back,then he started going back and fourth. Then he died in Japan.
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1 Total 1 pages 6 items |
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