Member Reviews

Like the first book, 'Time for Bed, Miyuki' this is another gentle tale that is absolutely stunningly illustrated throughout. In 'Patience, Miyuki'', the intricate and vibrant images support a gentle and important message about the need to develop patience and slow down and enjoy the world around you.

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This was just lovely! And a very different type of book that can totally be worked into an art lesson (yes, please!!! the art is gorgeous), a science lesson, and a social emotional lesson about patience. I would use it for all three and point to each way we could look at and read this book! It would also be a great way to start a writing prompt... or to start a new term.. or a new season (even a dreary season like Winter).

I really loved the ethereal and natural threads through this one-- the concept of patience being inextricably linked to the world around us and the earth we live on. Beautiful- can't wait to see this one in person!!

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Thank you #netgalley for giving me a copy of #PatienceMiyuki to review. I find myself smiling through the whole story. Miyuki is a very impatient girl who is excited that spring has come. She rushes through everything and needs to learn patience so, our course, she encounters obstacles on her journey that slow her down. The illustrations were beautiful and the story was a delight. A great addition to an elementary library.

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I was very excited to be able to read Patience, Miyuki, because Time For Bed, Miyuki was my top pick for picture books last year. In this second book, we once again follow young Miyuki as her imagination takes her on a little adventure in the garden. This time around, she's very impatient to see a new flower bloom, and so she tries different ways to hurry it along.

I loved the whimsical style of illustrator Seng Soun Ratanavanh in the first Miyuki book, and the illustrations here are just as fun. Unfortunately, I don't like this story quite as much. I preferred the structure in Time For Bed, Miyuki, where each activity she and her grandfather did were told in a repetitive way, the grandfather was a more active participant, and the connection between Miyuki's imagination and the "real" activities they were doing was clearer to me.

Although Patience, Miyuki did not quite live up to my expectations, to be fair, my expectations were pretty darn high. 4 stars for this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Princeton Architectural Press for providing me with a DRC of this book.

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Having not read the previous book in the Miyuki series I was not sure what to expect from "Patience, Miyuki". The artwork is exceptional, delicate, sweet, magical, whilst the message behind the story -the importance of taking your time, be patient and stop rushing for everything- trule resonated with me.

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I just fell in love with the beauty of the illustrations in Patience, Miyuki! I did not know this little girl and I must say I loved how important nature is in this book. The story is very interesting as it teaches children patience through this story of Miyuki looking for the purest water for her flower.

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Miyuki is eager to welcome spring and to see her flower bloom. While her grandfather counsels patience, Miyuki is so impatient that she cannot do this. The story unfolds as Miyuki goes on a journey searching for water and learns that things happen in the time that is meant for them.

This is the second collaboration by the author and illustrator. As in the first book, Time for Bed, Miyuki, the text and illustrations complement each other well. As can be seen from the book cover the reader looks at peaceful, gorgeous, imaginative scenes.

I hope that I will get to spend more time with Miyuki, her grandfather and her world in the future. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this lyrical volume. All opinions are my own.

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A really pleasant read for those in the audience who can cope with about a hundred words a page. It's a rich little story of a young Japanese girl anxious to see the glories of spring, and comes across as almost a Zen text in instructing her – and us – to be patient about it. The wonders of the seasons might be revealed to us slowly, but not so the stunning artworks here, combining geometric patterns with those of nature really well. Some might think the story – characters that talk when they shouldn't, surprise appearances by rabbits etc – a little too odd, but I took to it, and even if the ending came a little abruptly, the lesson hits home. Four and a half stars.

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This is my first Miyuki story and I was really impressed by the beauty of its artwork: delicate, sweet, and gentle. Miuki is a lively child who wants to live her life to the fullest and sometimes lacks patience. She notices a little flower which is yet to bloom, as if it hasn't noticed that the spring is already there. Miyuki would like to help it wake up, but it needs the purest water, so Miuki sets off on her quest. The story gets more and more magical, and Miyuki gets a lot of help and the same advice: patience, Miyuki, sometimes you have to wait and appreciate the beauty of the moment which you might miss if you rush around.
Thank you to NetGalley and Princeton Architectural Press for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

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While the sweet story reminding kids that sometimes the best things take time--and a little patience may be somewhat standard, the illustrations are exceptional and well worth spending time with.

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I received an electronic ARC from Princeton Architectural Press through NetGalley.
Galliez's message of appreciating the moment and treasuring the world around you comes through clearly. Miyuki rushes to get outside on the first day of spring and then see everything bloom. One flower is not ready to bloom; Grandfather tells her it's not yet time as it needs full water. She rushes around for the rest of the day to get water for it and misses all the beauty and joy of the day. The next day, she takes her time and appreciates the beauty including the little flower.
Gorgeous illustrations bring the text to life for younger readers. The origami creations look as if they're 3-D on the page.
Will use to talk about appreciating what we see around us.

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I would buy this book for Seng Soun Taranavanh's illustrations alone, they are just so gorgeous! They perfectly compliment Roxane Marie Galliez's story. Miyuki is excited about the first day of spring, but one of the flowers hasn't opened yet Her grandfather tells her to be patient, but she can't wait for it to bloom.. Her grandfather tells her it needs the purest water to help it wake up, and Miyuki dashes off in search for the water. Along the way, everyone she meets tells her to be patient, and finally, she wastes the first day of spring by trying to rush it. On the second day of spring, she finally learns to wait, and the flower opens. The illustrations give the sweet story a Wonderland feel, and add a dreamlike quality to Miyuki's journey.

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The illustrations are gorgeous and they really help to enhance the story. Little Miyuki doesn't want to slow down and wait, she wants things to happen right away. Miyuki soon learns what happens when she tries to rush things.

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I think that this book is very good and I loved the images they are quite quirky and a bit different but they are really in keeping with the book.

The plot line is very good and I will definitely be reading this book to my daughter when she is older, she is only a toddler now but as many parents with young children the same age will know, they are not always the most patient of people at this age!

It is 4 stars from me for this one, I enjoyed it and loved seeing the different images!

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I enjoyed the previous Miyuki book entitled Time for Bed, Miyuki. In that story, Miyuki thinks up a bunch of tasks she must accomplish before she'll be able to go to bed, as we experience the whimsical nature of her world.

Here she has the opposite approach -- she wants things to happen more quickly than they are. Miyuki waits for a flower to bloom and spring to come, but it's not coming quickly enough, and she decides she must find the purest water to sprinkle the flower with to help it open up. I can relate -- living in New England it seems like it takes forever for the snow to melt after winter.

Once again the Japanese-inspired illustrations complement the fantastical storyline that involves talking rivers, giant plants and animals (or perhaps the humans are simply miniature?), and other "unexplained" elements that help the story feel both fresh and mythical (and a bit like Alice in Wonderland).

Though the "lesson" of the story is not belabored, we do see in the end that sometimes it is better to simply watch and wait for life to unfold rather than trying to force it.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

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I haven't read the first book in the Miyuki series, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. It's a bit trippy, with illustrations that make me think of Alice in Wonderland.

Miyuki finds an unopened flower on the first day of spring and sets about finding the purest water for it so it will open. She spends all day running around trying to find this water, and by the end of the day, she still hasn't succeeded. The next morning, the flower still hasn't opened, and Miyuki is sad. But her grandfather tells her she needs to be patient, so they just sit together and watch and wait, enjoying the second day of spring as they wait for the flower to open.

Even though the illustrations are a bit weird and fanciful, I quite like them. The characters appear to be quite tiny, able to fit inside flowers, and other creatures (like toads and rabbits) are huge. The geometric patterns and soft colours make the whole aesthetic kind of stylized, but also magical. (I first encountered this illustrator's work in Stéphanie Demasse-Pottier's My Island. I really liked the pictures in that one, too, even if they didn't make a lot of sense. I think that weird, distorted vision of reality is what makes them special, though.)

I'm not sure if the message about being patient really comes through clearly, but the book is lovely to look at and it's nice to see a story about patience that isn't too preachy.

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