Named a best picture book of 2020 by Kirkus, School Library
Journal, Booklist, New York Public Library, the Globe and Mail,
CBC, and the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books -- a
heartfelt and personal immigration story by critically acclaimed author
Thao Lam
New from Thao Lam, the award-winning author of picture books My Cat
Looks Like My Dad, Wallpaper, and Skunk on a String, comes a
personal story inspired by her family's refugee journey.
In The Paper Boat, Thao's signature collage art tells the wordless
story of one family's escape from Vietnam--a journey intertwined with an
ant colony's parallel narrative.
At her home in Vietnam, a girl rescues ants from the sugar water set out
to trap them. Later, when the girl's family flees war-torn Vietnam, ants
lead them through the moonlit jungle to the boat that will take them to
safety. Before boarding, the girl folds a paper boat from a bun wrapper
and drops it into the water, and the ants climb on. Their perilous
journey, besieged by punishing weather, predatory birds, and
dehydration, before reaching a new beginning, mirrors the family's own.
Impressionistic collages and a moving, Own Voices narrative make this a
one-of-a-kind tale of courage, resilience, and hope.
