105 Ways to Give a Book

The Thursday Three XII

It’s still Thursday. Late, yes, but still Thursday.

Minji's SalonMinji’s Salon, by Eun-hee Choung
This book comes to Kane/Miller publishing from South Korea, but it could just as easily be set in any of the bustling Korean neighborhoods popping up in America. While her mother is getting her hair colored and styled, Minji follows suit with her own customer — a black dog — and in her own way. The child’s desire to do grown-up things is universal, and is captured well in this simply worded picture book. The illustrations are engaging, especially when capturing the expressions of Minji and her mom. Enjoyable, lovely book.

If Not for the Calico CatIf Not for the Calico Cat, written by Mary Blount Christian, illustrated by Sebastià Serra
A ship’s crew believes that a calico cat will bring them good luck on their sea journey. They load the silks, rice, tea, fans, vases, jade... and of course, a calico cat from the pier. But they may have picked the wrong cat. This fluffy pet just wants to find a nice place to rest, even if it means inadvertently causing chaos. There was a moment toward the conclusion of the book when I felt that it was going kind of dark, but all was okay in the end. At least for the cat. An interesting book on sea journeys and kitties with a little old Japanese flair thrown in for good measure.

The Silk PrincessThe Silk Princess, by Charles Santore
The Chinese legend of the discovery of silk is expanded in this picture book. A child sees a silkworm cocoon fall in hot tea and begin to unwind. She takes one end and walks away from her mother to see how far it stretches. She walks and walks and soon gets worn out and lies down. She continues her adventure, running away from a dragon and then meeting an old man who teaches her the way to use the silk. She takes the story — or dream — back to her mother and silk is introduced in China. The illustrations are beautiful and very detailed. There’s a lot of text, so a better story for older preschool or early school-age kids.

1 comment:

Jules at 7-Imp said...

How about that Minj? Love that book. Love them all, except I've not seen that middle one, so thanks for the tip. Will have to go look for that one.

Jules, 7-Imp