  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 08/01/2015 Gr 1–4—A tender picture book with graphic novel elements about a young girl's escape from loneliness through her imagination. Left home alone one day, a cherubic toddler-size child quickly becomes bored and decides to visit her grandmother. Dressing for the snowy day, she boards a city bus with good intentions. However, she eventually grows drowsy, falls asleep, and doesn't wake up until the bus is at its last stop. This is where the story gets magical. The last stop is at the edge of a strange wooded area filled with magical creatures. Much like Lewis Caroll's Alice, the girl wanders through the woods in hopes of eventually finding her way back home. Although this is a wordless picture book, there is no lack of story. Illustrated with pencil in softly shaded tones of gray and white, the girl's subtle expressions are captured simply but acutely. The style is cartoony; however, the black-and-white palette gives it a sophisticated tone. With the exception of several dramatic spreads, most pages are organized into graphic novel-style panels. The apparent age of the protagonist may deter some older readers. Luckily, the heartwarming and enchanting story, paired with such beautiful artwork is reason enough to purchase this title. VERDICT Part picture book, part graphic novel, this book is a solid addition that will spark discussion and inspire budding artists.—Jaclyn Anderson, Madison County Library System, MS - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 11/15/2015 *Starred Review* Guojing grew up under China’s one-child policy among “a very lonely generation of children,” and that sense of loneliness beautifully suffuses her spare, wordless debut. A chubby-cheeked, slightly cartoonish little girl entertains herself at home alone after her parents leave for work, but soon toys and TV can’t keep her from feeling lonesome, so she intrepidly decides to take the bus to her grandma’s house. Guojing’s sepia-toned panels illustrate the stark beauty of the snowy streets the girl walks down: they’re packed with people, while smokestacks loom in the background behind electrical lines stretched overhead. The city scenes are a sharp contrast to the dim, quiet wood where the little girl ends up—she’s fallen asleep on the bus and misses her stop. Alone again and far from her grandma’s, she sits down and weeps, but emerging from between the trees is a majestic reindeer, who escorts her on a dreamy adventure in the clouds before bringing her back home to her worried family. Each arresting, softly penciled panel is surprisingly luminous in spite of its monochromatic palette, and in those gentle scenes, Guojing evokes a wide range of feeling, especially the lonesomeness of the little girl, who never quite seems at ease alone. Reminiscent of Raymond Briggs’ classic, The Snowman (1978), this is quiet, moving, playful, and bittersweet all at once. - Copyright 2015 Booklist. Loading...
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