From the Publisher
...splendid...a powerful story about compassion and finding one’s voice. There are an increasing number of picture books about immigration, but this one stands above the rest in its brilliant and deeply felt depiction of how it feels for children just like Dat.” — Julie Danielson, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
“Brilliant, metaphorical illustrations move from cartooney black and white to realistic color to illuminate Vo’s exceptional storytelling… It’s a must-share book that beautifully shows the challenges of language learning.” — Melissa Taylor, Imagination Soup
“The ingenuity and playfulness of the art, as well as the book's overarching message, make this title a must for any child's library.” — Shelf Awareness
"“Vo’s heartwarming immigration story is beautifully told, with multimedia illustrations that shine on each spread. This uplifting story is a welcome addition to any collection.”—School Library Journal , "
"[STAR] “This picture book brilliantly conveys how terrifying and confusing it can be to adapt to a strange country and how much even one person’s acts of kindness can help. This is a story that will give hope to kids dealing with a new country and could inspire others to reach out to struggling immigrant children.” — Booklist (starred), "
“Masterly. A tender reflection of what it feels like, after being socially on the outside, when linguistic connections spark and fizz, and one’s first few words (‘tree,’ ‘boat,’ ‘book’) suddenly multiply to equal ‘home.’”— Kory Stamper, The New York Times
“[Gibberish] reminds me a bit of Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, in that it shows a foreign world by making it look literally alien. This one focuses on language, but that’s an important key to unlocking a new place.” — Geek Dad
“...a superb picture book...'Gibberish' tells a touching tale that will resonate not only with former outsiders but also with children who might wonder why the new kid at school is so quiet.” —Wall Street Journal
Best of the Year, Bank Street College
School Library Journal
08/01/2022
K-Gr 2—A young boy named Dat and his mah travel to a new country. As Dat prepares for his first day of school, Mah explains that when the people around him speak, the words will "sound like gibberish," and that he should listen and do the best that he can. Throughout Dat's day, he struggles to understand his bus driver, teacher, and classmates. He spends the majority of his day alone, until "someone unexpected" reaches out to him, first on the playground, and then again on the bus ride home.
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-03-30
A boy begins school in a new country where everyone speaks gibberish.
Poignant front pages set the scene as a tiny woman and boy set sail from a tropical land and an airplane flies from a colorful landscape into a dulling gray sky. The story thus begins in a new grayscale landscape where only Dat, an Asian-featured boy, and his mother are in full color as he heads off to school. Vo ingeniously makes everything about this new environment feel foreign and surreal: the palette, the bulbous vehicles, and especially the wacky 1940s-style cartoon figures Dat encounters who speak in unintelligible icons inside speech bubbles (and repeatedly get his name wrong). Cartoon classmates are various types of humanoid creatures—some one-eyed, some horned—with large, expressive googly eyes, while Dat is finely drawn in realistic color, his facial expressions perfectly conveying his struggles with this new culture and language. But then one of his classmates engages with him. The two realize they can communicate and share English words through drawings, and as their bond blossoms, the new friend gains pale-skinned color, realistic form, and a name: Julie. Vo’s use of color and style as metaphors is not new, but the execution is stellar, creating a viscerally uncomfortable experience while also infusing the narrative with humor throughout. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A visually and emotionally immersive immigration story. (Picture book. 4-8)
