Mirror written and illustrated by Jeannie Baker
Synopsis:
Two cultures, two stories, one unique book. Somewhere in Sydney, Australia, a boy and his family wake up, eat breakfast, and head out for a busy day of shopping. Meanwhile, in a small village in Morocco, a boy and his family go through their own morning routines and set out to a bustling market. In this ingenious, wordless picture book, readers are invited to compare, page by page, the activities and surroundings of children in two different cultures. Their lives may at first seem quite unalike, but a closer look reveals that there are many things, some unexpected, that connect them as well. Designed to be read side by side--one from the left and the other from the right--these intriguing stories are told entirely through richly detailed collage illustrations.
Synopsis:
Two cultures, two stories, one unique book. Somewhere in Sydney, Australia, a boy and his family wake up, eat breakfast, and head out for a busy day of shopping. Meanwhile, in a small village in Morocco, a boy and his family go through their own morning routines and set out to a bustling market. In this ingenious, wordless picture book, readers are invited to compare, page by page, the activities and surroundings of children in two different cultures. Their lives may at first seem quite unalike, but a closer look reveals that there are many things, some unexpected, that connect them as well. Designed to be read side by side--one from the left and the other from the right--these intriguing stories are told entirely through richly detailed collage illustrations.
Comments:
Like the title of the book suggests, the design shows one story being the mirror image of the other. The wordless book only has text on the first page explaining the concept. This is written in both English and Arabic which works well since Arabic is written and read from right to left and appears to be the mirror image of the English text. The detailed collage-type illustrations provide the Western reader with a great deal of information about life in a desert culture. At first glance the Moroccan scenes create the impression that life there is primitive. As the story progresses we see family cooking dinner over a open-fire oven , feeding their animals and then booting up their large-screen computer for the evening entertainment. What’s the underlying message? Ultimately, we’re not that different – just look in the mirror very carefully!
Like the title of the book suggests, the design shows one story being the mirror image of the other. The wordless book only has text on the first page explaining the concept. This is written in both English and Arabic which works well since Arabic is written and read from right to left and appears to be the mirror image of the English text. The detailed collage-type illustrations provide the Western reader with a great deal of information about life in a desert culture. At first glance the Moroccan scenes create the impression that life there is primitive. As the story progresses we see family cooking dinner over a open-fire oven , feeding their animals and then booting up their large-screen computer for the evening entertainment. What’s the underlying message? Ultimately, we’re not that different – just look in the mirror very carefully!
Congratulations Judy, and Magic Suitcase. This is a great addition to the Canadian literary journals that support children's book publications, such as Canadian Children's Literature (now titled Jeunesse and found at http://ccl.uwinnipeg.ca/) and others. I hope they know about this blog.
ReplyDeleteCertainly the visuals are going to make this an especially appealing site.
best wishes, Cornelia Hoogland
Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario