There are similarities here to Tan’s The Arrival (BCCB 1/08), both in theme and in device, as the local signs and teacher’s words appear incomprehensible to the protagonist; this is, however, a much more kid-focused experience. Mixed-media illustrations by Spanish illustrator Sanchez incorporate swift, hand-drawn lines, sweeps of saturated reds and translucent aquas, soft, smudgy textures, and occasional collaged elements, and the often-paneled result has the sophistication of a graphic novel. Some aspects of the kid’s experience will take some decoding, but audiences will easily perceive the changing mood as the gloomy city becomes more colorful and eventually culminates in the soft green embrace of the park.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (BCCB)
Kim tells an emotionally powerful tale here, and Sanchez’s swirling art is spellbinding. She uses color to great effect to convey strong emotions, and she knows just when to let white space let the story breathe precisely where it needs to. . . .It’s an intense story of the myriad complex emotions that come with immigration.
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog
In a most memorable example of ‘show, don’t tell,’ Kim’s so-worth-the-wait picture book has nary a word in sight. Whimsically captured in artist Sonia Sánchez‘s dazzling panels-in-constant-motion, Here I Am is an exquisite book to be savored again and again…each ‘reading’ promises to reveal yet another delightful, thoughtful detail. . . .a universal story for all.
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Book Dragon blog
...a marvelous picture book, a motile encapsulation of the turbulent world of a child uprooted from a faraway land, the confusion and sadness of his strange new world. Strongly compelling with powerful and whimsical visuals, young readers will feel deeply for and celebrate with this child as he finds himself burgeoning like a seed upon this beautiful soil called America. A must 'read.' What a triumph.
New York Times bestselling author of the memoir Co Da Chen
This contemplative, wordless picture book depicts a young boy who has recently journeyed to America. Patterned illustrations that invite reflection show the boy’s fear in a confusing new environment. After the boy accidentally drops a beloved seed from his homeland and a girl skips away with it, he’s drawn out of his apartment building and becomes more at ease with his neighborhood.
"Crossing Borders with Books" Book Links
Patti Kim forgoes text altogether in her winsome “Here I Am”. . . .Kim and Sánchez bring to their lively pages the heightened perceptions of the recently arrived. . . .From the moment he lands at J.F.K., the images vibrate with energy and detail. . . .The boy starts out feeling isolated and unhappy, but then embarks on a solo journey through his neighborhood that culminates in the making of a friend and a newfound sense of belonging.
Like Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, Here I Am does a superlative job of conveying the immigrant’s yearning to belong, to shuffle together the new and old cards of identity into a coherent pack. The three words of the title on the last page, floating above the boy’s reflection in a pool of Monet-green water, are both an affirmation and a satisfying full stop.
The universal themes in the story speak to a wide audience. Creative use of color, cartoon panels and graphic design make this story of adjusting to a new home a knockout.
A near-wordless and highly accessible portrait of migrant experience that cleverly contrasts an opening of bright, light-filled rural settings with a grey cityscape to reflect the anxiety and loneliness of the young migrant child in his unfamiliar new home. The setting is Asia/America but the story is universal; Kim includes an afterword that details her own experiences on migrating from Korea to the USA as a child in the 70s. Here I Am! is ideal for developing visual literacy skills and for use with mixed-ability groups and with EAL learners.
Vivid illustrations depict a touching wordless story of surprising depth. . . .The universal tale of the irony of loss that leads to acceptance and growth is portrayed with a rich, yet simple, sequence of lively visuals. This is a charming and meaningful book I wish I’d had when my son was young.
award-winning author of The Calligrapher’s D Eugenia Kim
This book with no words nevertheless captures what it’s like to be an immigrant in the big city — disorienting, unfamiliar, overwhelming, alienating, new. Though there’s little in the way of text in this story about a boy and his family from an unnamed Asian country, there’s plenty for readers to think and talk about. In the author’s note, Kim shares her own immigration from Korea to Washington D.C.
"15 Books for Kids About the Immigrant Experience Brightly
A beautiful story about the challenges of moving to a new country, Sánchez's hectic style effectively captures the sometimes overwhelming nature of the immigrant experience. The book also deftly shows the young boy acclimating to his new surroundings, while also recognizing that his culture has something beautiful to offer this new home.
Never has the overwhelming buzz of big city life been depicted with so few words. Actually, it’s the lack of words that allows you and your kid to step into the shoes of the little immigrant boy at the center of this story and empathize with his and his family’s experience.
Experience a young boy’s journey to a new life in a new country, a new world full of possibility, and a new future of hope in this exquisitely illustrated book…
This wordless graphic format picture book depicts an immigrant child’s experience plunged into a foreign land. Reminiscent of Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, it is perfect for any child who is encountering new immigrants for the first time.
What I love about this book is that you can add whatever language you speak to the pages, or use none at all. . . .Sometimes, when we are done reading through Here I Am together, my daughter smiles and asks me to read it to her again. Ultimately that’s the best review for a children’s book I can give.
The Loft Literacy Center The Writer's Block blog
This is one of the best books that I have read this year. Here I Am captures the experience of moving to a new country with such heart and warmth, but it is not cloyingly sweet. The illustrations brilliantly show you the cacophony of a new town when you don't know the language and the main character's initial despondency.
This charmingly illustrated story tells of an immigrant boy who must navigate the streets and customs of a foreign city. It's sure to appeal to any child who’s ever felt like a fish out of water.
HERE I AM is a gorgeous wordless picture book about change, loneliness, sharing and acceptance and is told through dozens of pictures and picture fragments. This book requires children to “read the pictures” and grasp the story of a little boy who migrates to a new country with his family. . . .HERE I AM, story by Patti Kim and pictures by Sonia Sanchez, captures the immigrant story through beautifully detailed and engaging pictures. This book will enhance visual literacy for ages 5-9...
Kim’s tale is well wrought without the use of words and tailor-made for emerging readers, and it’s perfectly matched by Sanchez’s truly wonderful, sprawling art and colors, bringing the city to life in an understated yet warm crescendo. Here I Am is a unique, smart, and welcoming book designed for starting fresh and softening fears.
When a boy and his family immigrate to New York City, he experiences confusion and loneliness until he braves the outside and discovers the wonders his new neighborhood has to offer. Sanchez’s mixed-media artwork captures the range of emotions experienced in adjusting to a move.
"More than Words" Book Links
With no words, the feelings of frustration that the boy feels at not being able to understand or read English are expertly conveyed in the expressive illustrations.
Newcomers to any country, and the adults who work with immigrant children and their families, will find a lot to talk about here.
A poetic look at the immigration experience. . . .the emotions that come through loud and clear are genuine for everyone. A book to provoke discussion or just quiet reflection about being an outsider.
This story retells the experiences of the immigrant through a positive lens without ever having to say a word. Kim and illustrator Sonia Sanchez provides us with an uneasy reality filled with moments that turn despair into hope, fear into joy, and mere strangers into long time friendships. With each picture revealing more and more of the boy‘s development and growth, it is not until the gathering of all these individual snippets of his transformation that helps readers of all backgrounds to gain a better understanding of the common issues that immigrant families are faced with.
Akin to The Arrival but in picture book form. Tells the story in pictures of a family newly immigrated to the United Sates and the challenges of starting a life in a new place.
Children's Literature @ NYPL blog
11/01/2013 Gr 3–5—In this visually impactful wordless book, Kim tells the story of a young boy who immigrates with his family to a new country. Scared and uncomfortable, the child keeps a seed from his homeland as solace in the midst of the unfamiliar surroundings, classmates, and language. When he loses it, the youngster goes out to explore and finds new wonders, from the neighborhood pretzel stand to making friends to discovering the rewards of planting old seeds in new soil. Sánchez's engaging mixed-media illustrations are expressive and effectively utilize white space. The innovative page layout and design significantly incorporate graphic-novel elements to tell the story, using panels of differing sizes, line color, and width, and superimposing panels on a larger background image. Kim and Sánchez have created a unique picture book that explores important themes relevant to many young readers, including immigration and adjusting to a new home.—Ted McCoy, Oakland Public Library, CA
…winsome…Sonia Sánchez's freewheeling, richly colored panels overlap and bleed into one another, mirroring the child's rapid shifts from wonder to trepidation to longing, as well as the absorbing, ever-changing rhythms of city life. Kim and Sánchez bring to their lively pages the heightened perceptions of the recently arrived.
The New York Times Book Review - Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
★ 09/30/2013 In a nearly wordless picture book, Kim and Sanchez examine the difficulties, adjustments, and eventual triumphs that accompany one boy's transition from an unspecified Asian nation to New York City with his family. The book's very wordlessness highlights the boy's unfamiliarity with English—signs on storefronts read as gibberish; a teacher neatly writes "bla bla bla" on the chalkboard—and Sanchez's palette veers from the dull tans and grays of the airport to the shocking blue and yellow lights of the city at night with a page turn. The boy is initially despondent, cranky, lonely, and bored—his only comfort is a red seed he carries, a memento of home. When that seed finds its way into the pocket of a girl skipping rope outside the boy's brownstone, he's finally drawn into the city, learning to embrace street food, friendly pigeons, and the smells wafting from a corner cafe. For children who have moved to an unfamiliar country or town, it's a sensitive reminder that they are not alone; for others, it'll be an eye-opening window into what those kids are going through. Ages 5–10. Illustrator's agent: Teresa Kietlinski, Prospect Agency. (Sept.)
★ 2013-08-15 Beautiful, evocative pictures tell the story of a boy who comes from an Asian land to a big U.S. city. Images in this virtually wordless, slender graphic novel range from dreamlike curlicues to bold, dark cityscapes and emotional vignettes. The boy looks out of the window of a plane, great sadness in his body language. He and his father, mother and baby sister go through a crowded airport and a noisy and bewildering city to a small apartment. He finds the subway and the streets confusing, and he does not understand anything at school. The boy cherishes a red seed he has evidently brought from home. By accident, he drops it out the apartment window and then goes on a frantic search for it, finding new and interesting places along the way. He discovers he loves big, salted pretzels and shares some with the pigeons. When a girl with bouncy braids and beads in her hair climbs a tree and hangs upside down, the red seed falls out of her pocket. She and the boy plant it together, and as the seasons pass, friendship, seed and baby sister grow. An author's note describes the storyteller's voyage at age 4 from Korea to Washington, D.C. Sánchez has captured a kaleidoscope of emotion and powerful sensations in a way children will grasp completely. It's The Arrival for younger readers. (Graphic novel. 5-10)