Review by Booklist Review
Change is hard, but friendship is perhaps the best balm. In this story, a South Korean boy named Jae moves to the U.S., and he is intimidated by his new surroundings--that is, until he meets a girl his age named Rosa, who has a colorful bird. Together, they (along with the bird) conjure up enough magic of imagination and play to last for a whole summer. The living room couch turns into the mountains near Jae's old village. The apartment complex becomes a site for lost llamas and hidden Inca treasures. Rosa sings to him with her bird. Unfortunately, everything is brought to a stunning halt when Rosa and her family suddenly leave without warning or explanation. She leaves only her bird for Jae, who's devastated. As he grieves, he meets new friends but keeps her memory as he and the bird sing her song. The illustrations are striking and raw with their depictions of natural light coming through windows, flooding a room, or glaring directly into your eyes around sunset. Readers will share the sadness of Jae's loss, but only after seeing Rosa and Jae's joyful playing--a happiness that's distinct to childhood.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The creators behind The Paper Kingdom reunite in this clunkily paced story about finding a new friend in a new place. Jae, who has light brown skin, is "new to the country, the city, the building," far away from "his old village, his old home, his old friends," and worried about forgetting "my new words," writes Ku Rhee. But with encouragement from his mother, he soon meets downstairs neighbor Rosa, portrayed with brown skin, whose parrot, Pollito, accompanies her everywhere. The children become fast friends as Rosa imagines the aspects of life that Jae is missing (when he comments, "No mountains" about the window's view, she climbs the sofa: "I'm heading for clouds!"). Campion's sparsely finished digital illustrations combine reality and imaginative landscapes--as when the children explore their complex for "golden Incan treasures, and a rainforest with parrots--like where Rosa was born." When Rosa's family must abruptly move away ("They didn't have a choice," Jae is told), she leaves Pollito behind, precipitating a moment of anguish followed equally suddenly by the opportunity to welcome new neighbors. Ages 4--8. (June)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
New to the country, a boy finds solace in friendship. Jae, a boy cued as Asian, moves into a new apartment with his mother. Bored, lonely, and worried about not knowing words, he meets Rosa, a tan-skinned girl of boundless energy who goes everywhere with her pet parrot, Pollito, on her shoulder. Not only does Rosa's vivid imagination take Jae back to his home, where the mountains were in view and the streets were full of vendors, she also whisks them to the rainforest of Rosa's homeland to find llamas and "golden Inca treasures." She and Pollito sing a song: "When I fly away, my heart stays here." One morning, Jae wakes to discover that Rosa's family has moved. "They had to leave quickly. They didn't have a choice," Jae's mother explains to the heartbroken boy. But after a good cry, there is a knock on the door: Two brown-skinned kids stand in the hallway, ready to find a friend. This is a familiar narrative of finding a new home while honoring one's past home, with the unique angle of addressing the transient nature of immigrants and apartment dwellers in general. However, Campion's digital illustrations offer little nuance, depicting the children with expressive faces but leaving everything else crudely drawn. Combined with text that flows awkwardly in places, the message loses some impact. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A distinctive take on the immigrant experience that suffers upon execution. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
