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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
Based on Allen Say's family history, this picture book is a masterpiece and a classic. In gorgeous paintings, it tells the story of Say's grandfather who left Japan to explore the world and settled in California. When he got homesick for Japan, he moved his family back there. Like most of his work, this book explores the struggles and delights of living in two countries and across cultures. Poignant and introspective and just beautiful.
Love this quote: "Funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other."
Fine story of an immigrant that loves both his homeland and new country. Beautiful portrait illustrations.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
You don't often see picturebooks whose images are framed like old-fashioned photographs, almost stiff, but the way Say has worked his family members into historical-style portraits and into compositions that mirror famous paintings is a subtle language running underneath the slow, reflective, thoughtful story and all of the artwork is beautiful.
Beautifully illustrated , Grandfather's Journey tells of the love the author's grandfather and eventually the author felt for both Japan, the land of their birth, and California, their sometime adopted home. The grandfather is caught between two cultures and two worlds torn apart by World War II, and is never able to return to California. The grandson eventually visits California to see if it is as wonderful as his grandfather's descriptions and falls in love with it. However, "the funny things is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other." The book ends with a simple, sweet statement: "I think I know my grandfather now. I miss him very much."
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
A very, very sweet story about the life of immigrants. The grandfathers story is general and short, appropriate for my 1-3 grade class and instead of focusing on specific events, highlights the feelings of people who leave their home and the effects immigration has on families. I love this book.
1994 Caldecott
Illustrations 5, Story 3. A melancholy story about a boy's grandfather that left Japan and traveled in the USA. He loved California, but ultimately returned to Japan to get married. Back to the USA to live, but returned to Japan only to find war in the years ahead. Sadly, as a grandfather, he did not get to return to the US, but his grandson (author) did. He, in turn, has the same home-sickness for the other country and returns to visit.
I'm sure immigrant children can identify quickly with this story. The illustrations are excellent. But the story doesn't really advance the book for small children to say "Again", or for bigger children to check it out again from their library. 3.5+ so round to 4
Illustrations 5, Story 3. A melancholy story about a boy's grandfather that left Japan and traveled in the USA. He loved California, but ultimately returned to Japan to get married. Back to the USA to live, but returned to Japan only to find war in the years ahead. Sadly, as a grandfather, he did not get to return to the US, but his grandson (author) did. He, in turn, has the same home-sickness for the other country and returns to visit.
I'm sure immigrant children can identify quickly with this story. The illustrations are excellent. But the story doesn't really advance the book for small children to say "Again", or for bigger children to check it out again from their library. 3.5+ so round to 4
