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The Resource The paper boat, Thao Lam

The paper boat, Thao Lam

Creator
Author
Illustrator
Summary
"Thao Lam's family came to Canada as refugees during the Vietnam War. When Thao started thinking about how to tell this story, she couldn't stop thinking about ants: small, seemingly insignificant creatures who are able to travel amazingly long distances overwater, work hard, and thrive on almost every continent on the planet. The Paper Boat starts with a story inspired by Thao's mother's life: a young girl watches as a bowl of sugar water is put out to attract (and get rid of) some pesky aunts. As the adults around her frantically make plans for escape, she dips her chopstick into the bowl to save the drowning insects. When the army arrives, the family must flee, and in the chaos, the girl and her mother become separated from the others, and get lost in the jungle. The mother gives the hungry girl a bun wrapped in paper, which she then folds into a paper boat. After they eat, the girl spots a trail of ants in the moonlight. They follow the insects to water and manage to meet up with the boat that will take them to safety. The story switches to the perspective of a family of ants who have boarded the paper boat. Their journey is full of peril. The sun is relentless, the ants are attacked by seagulls, they starve, a storm capsizes their boat, and many ants are lost. The survivors, however, cling to each other, creating a raft of their own bodies, eventually making it to shore. One ant ends up on a kitchen table, surrounded by food, much like the table from the first scene. But the family members around this table aren't quite the same. The grandmother is no longer there, the little girl has grown, and she's been joined by a baby sister. But they seem happy, and most importantly, they are safe. As the story ends, the reader zooms out to see that they are but one family in an apartment building full of families, in a busy city full of apartment buildings full of tiny, seemingly insignificant creatures, working hard and thriving. With this picture book, Thao is returning to an earlier format: the wordless picture book of sequential art. But she has pushed herself again with the artwork--and this story is a collage of simple shapes, clean geometry, and impressionistic washes of colour. Its simplicity belies its great depth of feeling. This is a heartfelt, one-of-a-kind book on every level."--
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
1 volume (unpaged)
Note
"A refugee story."--Cover
Isbn
9781771473637
Instance
Label
The paper boat
Title
The paper boat
Statement of responsibility
Thao Lam
Creator
Author
Illustrator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
"Thao Lam's family came to Canada as refugees during the Vietnam War. When Thao started thinking about how to tell this story, she couldn't stop thinking about ants: small, seemingly insignificant creatures who are able to travel amazingly long distances overwater, work hard, and thrive on almost every continent on the planet. The Paper Boat starts with a story inspired by Thao's mother's life: a young girl watches as a bowl of sugar water is put out to attract (and get rid of) some pesky aunts. As the adults around her frantically make plans for escape, she dips her chopstick into the bowl to save the drowning insects. When the army arrives, the family must flee, and in the chaos, the girl and her mother become separated from the others, and get lost in the jungle. The mother gives the hungry girl a bun wrapped in paper, which she then folds into a paper boat. After they eat, the girl spots a trail of ants in the moonlight. They follow the insects to water and manage to meet up with the boat that will take them to safety. The story switches to the perspective of a family of ants who have boarded the paper boat. Their journey is full of peril. The sun is relentless, the ants are attacked by seagulls, they starve, a storm capsizes their boat, and many ants are lost. The survivors, however, cling to each other, creating a raft of their own bodies, eventually making it to shore. One ant ends up on a kitchen table, surrounded by food, much like the table from the first scene. But the family members around this table aren't quite the same. The grandmother is no longer there, the little girl has grown, and she's been joined by a baby sister. But they seem happy, and most importantly, they are safe. As the story ends, the reader zooms out to see that they are but one family in an apartment building full of families, in a busy city full of apartment buildings full of tiny, seemingly insignificant creatures, working hard and thriving. With this picture book, Thao is returning to an earlier format: the wordless picture book of sequential art. But she has pushed herself again with the artwork--and this story is a collage of simple shapes, clean geometry, and impressionistic washes of colour. Its simplicity belies its great depth of feeling. This is a heartfelt, one-of-a-kind book on every level."--
Writing style
Illustration
Award
  • School Library Journal Best Picture Books, 2020.
  • USBBY Outstanding International Books, 2021
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/bookUI
10912893
Cataloging source
NLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Lam, Thao
Dewey number
jC813/.6
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
no index present
Literary form
fiction
http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/minGradeLevel
  • 1
  • 4
http://library.link/vocab/resourcePreferred
True
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Refugees
  • Boats and boating
  • Paper toys
  • Families
  • Ocean travel
  • Ants
  • Stories without words
  • Family life
  • JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Emigration & Immigration
  • JUVENILE FICTION / Animals / Insects, Spiders, etc
  • JUVENILE FICTION / Family / General (see also headings under Social Themes)
  • Ants
  • Boats and boating
  • Families
  • Ocean travel
  • Paper toys
  • Refugees
  • Stories without words
Target audience
juvenile
http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/titleRemainder
a refugee story
Label
The paper boat, Thao Lam
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Note
"A refugee story."--Cover
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
  • text
  • still image
Content type code
  • txt
  • sti
Content type MARC source
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
Control code
on1131689156
Dimensions
29 cm
Extent
1 volume (unpaged)
Isbn
9781771473637
Lccn
2019956952
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
color illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1131689156
Label
The paper boat, Thao Lam
Publication
Copyright
Note
"A refugee story."--Cover
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
  • text
  • still image
Content type code
  • txt
  • sti
Content type MARC source
  • rdacontent
  • rdacontent
Control code
on1131689156
Dimensions
29 cm
Extent
1 volume (unpaged)
Isbn
9781771473637
Lccn
2019956952
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
color illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1131689156

Subject

Genre

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Library Locations

    • Carver BranchBorrow it
      1161 Angelina St., Austin, TX, 78702, US
      30.2695584 -97.7240278
    • Central LibraryBorrow it
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      30.2713021 -97.7460168
    • Terrazas BranchBorrow it
      1105 E. Cesar Chavez St., Austin, TX, 78702, US
      30.2599154 -97.7334621
    • Windsor Park BranchBorrow it
      5833 Westminster Dr., Austin, TX, 78723, US
      30.3116523 -97.6902298

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