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The paper boat

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Author:
Publisher:
Owlkids Books
Publication Date:
[2020]
Language:
English

Description

"Thao Lam's family came to Canada as refugees during the Vietnam War. When Thao started thinking about how to tell this story, she couldn't stop thinking about ants: small, seemingly insignificant creatures who are able to travel amazingly long distances overwater, work hard, and thrive on almost every continent on the planet. The Paper Boat starts with a story inspired by Thao's mother's life: a young girl watches as a bowl of sugar water is put out to attract (and get rid of) some pesky aunts. As the adults around her frantically make plans for escape, she dips her chopstick into the bowl to save the drowning insects. When the army arrives, the family must flee, and in the chaos, the girl and her mother become separated from the others, and get lost in the jungle. The mother gives the hungry girl a bun wrapped in paper, which she then folds into a paper boat. After they eat, the girl spots a trail of ants in the moonlight. They follow the insects to water and manage to meet up with the boat that will take them to safety. The story switches to the perspective of a family of ants who have boarded the paper boat. Their journey is full of peril. The sun is relentless, the ants are attacked by seagulls, they starve, a storm capsizes their boat, and many ants are lost. The survivors, however, cling to each other, creating a raft of their own bodies, eventually making it to shore. One ant ends up on a kitchen table, surrounded by food, much like the table from the first scene. But the family members around this table aren't quite the same. The grandmother is no longer there, the little girl has grown, and she's been joined by a baby sister. But they seem happy, and most importantly, they are safe. As the story ends, the reader zooms out to see that they are but one family in an apartment building full of families, in a busy city full of apartment buildings full of tiny, seemingly insignificant creatures, working hard and thriving. With this picture book, Thao is returning to an earlier format: the wordless picture book of sequential art. But she has pushed herself again with the artwork--and this story is a collage of simple shapes, clean geometry, and impressionistic washes of colour. Its simplicity belies its great depth of feeling. This is a heartfelt, one-of-a-kind book on every level."--

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More Details

ISBN:
9781771473637

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Grouping Information

Grouped Work ID3ac17ff5-a628-e96c-8c1a-d35656e0fe70
Grouping Titlepaper boat
Grouping Authorthao lam
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2024-12-03 08:08:16AM
Last Indexed2024-12-05 02:13:31AM

Solr Fields

accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Lam, Thao
author_display
Lam, Thao
collection_clearview
Picture Book
detailed_location_clearview
Windsor Picture Book
display_description
"Thao Lam's family came to Canada as refugees during the Vietnam War. When Thao started thinking about how to tell this story, she couldn't stop thinking about ants: small, seemingly insignificant creatures who are able to travel amazingly long distances overwater, work hard, and thrive on almost every continent on the planet. The Paper Boat starts with a story inspired by Thao's mother's life: a young girl watches as a bowl of sugar water is put out to attract (and get rid of) some pesky aunts. As the adults around her frantically make plans for escape, she dips her chopstick into the bowl to save the drowning insects. When the army arrives, the family must flee, and in the chaos, the girl and her mother become separated from the others, and get lost in the jungle. The mother gives the hungry girl a bun wrapped in paper, which she then folds into a paper boat. After they eat, the girl spots a trail of ants in the moonlight. They follow the insects to water and manage to meet up with the boat that will take them to safety. The story switches to the perspective of a family of ants who have boarded the paper boat. Their journey is full of peril. The sun is relentless, the ants are attacked by seagulls, they starve, a storm capsizes their boat, and many ants are lost. The survivors, however, cling to each other, creating a raft of their own bodies, eventually making it to shore. One ant ends up on a kitchen table, surrounded by food, much like the table from the first scene. But the family members around this table aren't quite the same. The grandmother is no longer there, the little girl has grown, and she's been joined by a baby sister. But they seem happy, and most importantly, they are safe. As the story ends, the reader zooms out to see that they are but one family in an apartment building full of families, in a busy city full of apartment buildings full of tiny, seemingly insignificant creatures, working hard and thriving. With this picture book, Thao is returning to an earlier format: the wordless picture book of sequential art. But she has pushed herself again with the artwork--and this story is a collage of simple shapes, clean geometry, and impressionistic washes of colour. Its simplicity belies its great depth of feeling. This is a heartfelt, one-of-a-kind book on every level."--
format_category_clearview
Books
format_clearview
Book
id
3ac17ff5-a628-e96c-8c1a-d35656e0fe70
isbn
9781771473637
itype_clearview
Book
last_indexed
2024-12-05T09:13:31.866Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Fiction
literary_form_full
Fiction
local_callnumber_clearview
PICBOOK LAM T
owning_library_clearview
Admin and Storage
Bookmobile
Clearview Library District
Severance Library
Windsor Library
owning_location_clearview
Windsor Library
primary_isbn
9781771473637
publishDate
2020
publisher
Owlkids Books
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Ants
Ants -- Fiction
Ants -- Juvenile fiction
Boats and boating
Boats and boating -- Fiction
Boats and boating -- Juvenile fiction
Families
Families -- Fiction
Families -- Juvenile fiction
Family life -- Fiction
Fiction
JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Insects, Spiders, etc
JUVENILE FICTION / Family / General (see also headings under Social Themes)
JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Emigration & Immigration
Juvenile works
Ocean travel
Ocean travel -- Fiction
Ocean travel -- Juvenile fiction
Paper toys
Paper toys -- Fiction
Paper toys -- Juvenile fiction
Picture books
Refugees
Refugees -- Fiction
Refugees -- Juvenile fiction
Stories without words
Wordless picture books
title_display
The paper boat
title_full
The paper boat / Thao Lam
title_short
The paper boat
topic_facet
Ants
Boats and boating
Families
Family life
JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Insects, Spiders, etc
JUVENILE FICTION / Family / General (see also headings under Social Themes)
JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Emigration & Immigration
Ocean travel
Paper toys
Refugees
Stories without words

Solr Details Tables

item_details

Bib IdItem IdShelf LocationCall NumFormatFormat CategoryNum CopiesIs Order ItemIs eContenteContent SourceeContent URLDetailed StatusLast CheckinLocation
ils:215827129223Windsor Picture BookPICBOOK LAM T1falsefalseChecked Out3

record_details

Bib IdFormatFormat CategoryEditionLanguagePublisherPublication DatePhysical DescriptionAbridged
ils:215827BookBooksEnglishOwlkids Books[2020]32 unnumbered pages : color illustrations ; 29 cm

scoping_details_clearview

Bib IdItem IdGrouped StatusStatusLocally OwnedAvailableHoldableBookableIn Library Use OnlyLibrary OwnedIs Home Pick Up OnlyHoldable PTypesBookable PTypesHome Pick Up PTypesLocal Url
ils:215827129223Checked OutChecked Outfalsefalsetruefalsefalsetruefalse