★ 07/13/2015
Young’s books have long stood out for their distinctive combination of imagination and artistry, and she pushes both ideas to new heights as she transforms the mundane into the fantastical through jaw-dropping paper sculptures. Twelve misplaced objects—a roller skate, sun visor, change purse, etc.—appear against white pages, labeled as though they were evidence (evidence of absentmindedness, perhaps). “Fig. 3,” a wristwatch last seen in the kitchen (“top drawer with the elastic bands”), has a pale blue band and orange hands. Each right-hand page opens outward, at which point the magic begins. Five paper sculptures depict the watch’s wild transformation as it sprouts legs, forms a cluster of pods, and eventually turns into what resembles a giant, spiky clam. Eyeglasses morph into a resplendent fish with delicate orange fins like pencil shavings; a guitar case self-replicates à la a regenerating starfish as it expands into a poinsettialike bloom. An aquatic theme gradually makes itself clear, culminating in a delightful seabed ecosystem. Humorous, haunting, and just a touch creepy, it’s a singular vision of the possibilities hidden in the everyday. Ages 4–7. (Sept.)
A phenomenal exercise in visual storytelling.
Page after page Young takes something small and ordinary and transforms it, expanding the possibilities of the everyday.
Imaginative, arresting, and superbly executed.
A Boston Globe Best Book of 2015 for Kids
A National Post Best Book of the Year
CCBC Best Books for Children and Teens, Spring 2016
Shortlisted for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award
"Imaginative, arresting, and superbly executed." — Booklist, starred review
"The nature of art, the nature of transformation, and where all those lost items go are spun into the gold of philosophy and puckishness. . . . Universally mesmerizing." — Kirkus, starred review
"Humorous, haunting, and just a touch creepy, it’s a singular vision of the possibilities hidden in the everyday." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
"In a perfect world, all children would be exposed to beautiful bookmaking like this." — School Library Journal
"Page after page Young takes something small and ordinary and transforms it, expanding the possibilities of the everyday." — Boston Globe
"A phenomenal exercise in visual storytelling." — National Post
Praise for Out the Window:
“This whimsical celebration of imagination is a reminder to constantly seek to broaden our horizons, for new wonders always await.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
10/01/2015
Gr 2–4—Young, a paper sculptor and author of The Queen's Shadow (Kids Can, 2015), Nancy Knows (Tundra, 2014), and Out the Window (Groundwood, 2014), among other titles, displays her brilliant artistry in a book replete with fantastic imagery and surprising gatefolds. The building blocks of Young's art are displayed on the book's endpapers—small tubes, cones, droplets, and fans of sculpted Japanese paper—bits and shapes that form the elaborate creations within the book. On each spread, the artist offers a minute image of one of 12 "lost" objects and a note about where it was "last seen." ("LAST SEEN: Car ride home from the noodle house," "LAST SEEN: Coat pocket—black or brown one, not the red.") Readers open the spread's gatefold to witness the object morph into a series of paper sculptures, each one taking on more characteristics of the final image. A pale blue umbrella transforms into a sea anemone, "mom's eyeglasses" become a gorgeous striped fish, and a lawn chair folds and unfolds into a colorful display of plant life visited by curious imaginary creatures. Pastels dominate these exquisite creations, which will be studied by children as they observe the changes that occur, image by image, and behold the fanciful marine life-forms that emerge. VERDICT Purchase for its artistry and as an introduction to paper crafting.—Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal
★ 2015-06-29
"Where there's an end / there's a beginning. / Things grow. / Things change." Twelve figures are each placed singly on a white page: a change purse; Mom's glasses; sister's headphones. On the recto, which is always a foldout, is a simple description: a number ("Fig. 8"), the name of the object ("Guitar case"), a "last seen" note ("Hillcrest Park—birthday party"). Opening the foldout marks the beginning of the magic. A series of photographic images on the same white background show the transformation of the object into something rich and strange, if not always recognizable. A blue umbrella transmutes into a jellyfish in four steps. Dad's messenger bag metamorphoses into a spiny sea creature. Amazingly, a set of keys and their ring become a tropical garden. Even more amazingly, each object in each multiple incarnation is made entirely of Japanese paper sculpture. All of them are displayed in a double-page spread at the end on a pale azure background, and the book closes with a photograph of the artist so readers can see how small these fabulous creations are. The nature of art, the nature of transformation, and where all those lost items go are spun into the gold of philosophy and puckishness. Perhaps more an artist's book than a children's book but universally mesmerizing. (Picture book. 5-12)
