This powerful picture book is a wordless recreation via metaphor of the author's family's journey from Vietnam to Canada at the end of the Vietnam War. Only two at the time, Thao Lam remembers little of the events themselves, but has taken her mother's story and crafted it beautifully for this children's book.

Working in her preferred mixed-media/collage art style, she tells the tale of a Vietnamese family forced to flee their homeland by boat, merging seamlessly with the tale of ants also embarking on a perilous journey using a paper boat her mother folded to keep her quiet and entertained while hiding from military brutality. The ants have a hard time of it out on the open water, beset by heat, birds, hunger and storms. So it is almost magical when the ants make their way to safety, just as Ms Lam's family does, finally settling in beautiful urban Canada.

This is a book that requires the reader to pore over each beautiful panel in order to get the full effect of the story. It's especially important to pay attention on pages 28 & 29, as my 9 year-old and I needed to go back when we were done reading to see that the ants had made landfall and weren't merely swimming in a calmer sea. I was probably slightly more affected by the book than he was, tho he did enjoy the art and the fact that there weren't any words till the insightful author's note at the end.

The Paper Boat is the kind of book that skillfully does the tough but necessary work of encouraging empathy, especially for refugees. While Ms Lam is carefully neutral about the involvement of Malaysia in resettling Vietnamese arrivals, I personally wish that the land I grew up in had shown far more hospitality then, and would show far more kindness and decency to the refugees they host now. Which is all very well for me to say, given that I live in a country with its own deplorable track record, that I'm hoping to help correct come November*. In the meantime, I'll keep promoting books like this one in hopes that it will help open eyes, hearts and minds to the very real human suffering we can do so much to alleviate simply by recognizing the humanity in one another and treating others the way we would want to be treated.

*semi-regular reminder for Americans to check your voter registration and otherwise prepare yourself to vote by going to <a href="https://www.vote.org/">Vote.org</a>.

Owlkids Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Paper Boat: a refugee story. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Told in collage art style, the author wordlessly explains one family’s escape from Vietnam. A little girl saves ants from sugar water, meant to drown them, so they in turn save her family while they are fleeing from their war torn village. The perilous journey, for both the ants and their human companions, are intertwined from page to page. As they separately reach their destination, are the two groups reunited in the end?

Unfortunately, The Paper Boat does not make much sense without the Author's Note located at the back of the book. The true story of the author's journey should have been a lead-in to the book, as it helps the reader make sense of the depictions. I am not sure that children would necessarily get what the author is trying to convey without some type of explanation. Written in simple language that children would understand, a note at the beginning would help tremendously. That being said, The Paper Boat is good assistant for parents or educators to explain the idea of refugees, from any country in any time period.

'The Paper Boat' with story and illustrations by Thao Lam is a wordless book about a refugees journey told in an interesting way.

A young girl saves some ants in her home in Vietnam. Soon her family will flee across the ocean and the ants will lead them. The story of the journey's hardship is told as the ants face starvation, dehydration and death.

I really liked this wordless story. I liked the way the ants were used to create sympathetic characters without making a traumatic story. The papercut illustrations are unique illustrations, too.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Owlkids Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Children of Southeast Asian refugees like myself will appreciate the harrowing journey Lam shares of a girl and her family's escape from Vietnam. Presented without words, readers must interpret the story through images illustrated with collage art. It encourages a more intimate connection by having readers closely observe the actions and emotions on each page so when readers finally reach the author's note, there is a greater emotional impact. The Paper Boat provides an opportunity to share the sacrifices of our families, passing down stories to a younger generation so they may understand their history is not only one filled with pain but also courage and hope.

Stunning visuals. This is a child's Grimm's fairytale like view of being a refugee leaving war torn Vietnam. I am a huge fan of ants so I really loved the ants as a metaphor for refugees. I really loved the details in the author's note, especially, "Whereever they find themselves, they adapt, contribute, and make a substantial impact on the local environment. They have no fear of hardship and are willing to sacrifice themselves to ensure the safety of their families above all else."

While their are no words to the story, it is impactful and emotional with just the visuals.

Gut-punching wordless picture book about the author's family's escape from Vietnam at the end of that war, plus a parallel story of the unexpected outcomes of being kind to all creatures. The illustrations are detailed and complex. This is the kind of story book that a child will go back to time and again, discovering something new each time they take the journey again. The artwork is muted, and while this may be initially off-putting, it suits the story: such an achingly personal account need not scream in neon.
#netgalley

An excellent book that I recommend to school-age children. The illustrations are gorgeous, and I'm sure it would have captivated me even more if I had the hardcover book.

I appreciate the author telling her story at the end of the book to better understand the illustrations.

A short 'picture story'....told using no words.....using a unique style of art/drawing. I had to kind of pay attention & figure out what was being depicted. I like that at the end of the book, the author told the story in 1 easy page of written text about what the pictures had meant......& I was glad that that's what I'd understood to have happened, by following the illustrations. It's a worthwhile book......for all ages.
I received this e-galley from Owlkid Books, via NetGalley, & in return offer this my own fair & honest review.

This wordless refugee story is filled with emotion on every page. The author creatively parallels her family's journey and struggle to find a new home to the survival and resilience of ants, when displaced. Though wordless, the pacing was wonderful. The harrowing journey was also told at one point, through the lens of ants. I LOVED the limited use of color and wonderful collage art. It felt like the story was being told from memory, making the color choices perfect. A must for anyone interested in learning about the cost of freedom and the immigrant experience for some families.

I'm noticing an increasing trend in children's books that aim to convey a moral, cultural, political, or historical lesson to early-readers in a way that is beautiful and emotional for the adult reader but inaccessible to the child.

The Paper Boat by Thao Lam is a stunningly illustrated and imaginative retelling of her past through the eyes of a child and ants. It's very creative, heart felt, and significant. But I take issue with this story because it reads like the author wanted to share her story more than she wanted to effectively communicate with very young readers. This book may be a good book and learning tool for middle grade children, but if it's labeled as a story for very young children, then I disagree. I understand there is research for children's books without any words, but, man, I do not prefer them.

Again, it's beautiful. I'm not sure that I would have understood the story with the ants had I not read the blurb first, however. I want my children to be exposed to and learn about the world and people beyond our own home, but they would be so confused about what this book is trying to communicate that what the author is hoping to share would not be communicated.

Thank you NetGalley and OwlKids for a copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

𝐀 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐫-𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐧𝐚𝐦.


𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘵 is a refugee story using Lam’s signature collage art. It’s a story without words, genre ‘wordless narrative’ that allows the child and parent to experience the menacing experience of escape. As the story begins a Vietnamese little girl saves ants from a sugar water trap using a chopstick. It puts a smile on her face, but through the pages her family wear only worry on their own. Looming outside the window of their home war-tanks can be seen with the infamous Communist star on it’s side. Troops are marching, there is a war raging outside and they must use all their money and jewelry to escape. They have a small boat, not much different than the one the little girl folds for the ants she has rescued, they too will set off on the waters and their own dangerous journey. The brutal sun, illness, exhaustion, threats from the sky like deadly seabirds who want to eat them, near drowning, vicious storms and scores of ants clustered together, much like the author’s own family went through.

Once they are safe and on land, have a place to stay in a city and food to eat there is another family member, a newborn as the mother in the story was pregnant on the journey. Now they are in a place where many cultures blend, as evidenced from the artwork and different styles of dress. They are alive, no longer living in fear, a fresh start from what they knew in Vietnam… building a different life. I found an interview with the author Thao Lam on YouTube about this beautiful book and her family’s experience. It’s well worth watching. She was only 2 at the time of their escape and as you can read in the Author’s Note at the end, she has no recollection of their journey, all her questions were met with silence about the unspeakable things that happened during the Vietnam war. Her mother, however, found a way to speak about seeking asylum to a young Thao by using insects and telling ‘a magical story about ants, the only invasion before the war’. This magic was a seed planted in Thao’s memory, giving birth to this tender book.

Ants rebuild, ants work together for survival, and they reflect everything Thao Lam’s family and refugees like themselves went through. Of course, a child’s understanding of what they are looking at is different dependent on age. Parents can explain what is happening, the art stands on it’s own, children generally love looking at art. The story is far more tender knowing the background. I always enjoy children’s books, both of my adult children are artists and we appreciate unique stories geared towards the young. It is a good way to teach our youth about other cultures and our own. Books are a bridge between us because stories, too, cross oceans. Lovely.

A very sweet story, very hopeful, poignant. I love the collage-style artwork. I do worry about how much a kid's attention would be kept, since it's wordless, as well as has dark colors, and being a refugee isn't a common topic.

A wordless picture book about a girl and her mother, and some ants, who escape war in a boat.

It is really helpful to read the author’s note in the back of the book about how this is her own story of escape from Vietnam and how the analogy with the ants was one that came from her family too. (I would even recommend reading it to kids before reading the book.) This puts the plight of refugees escaping by boat into terms that kids can process, thanks to the ants, without being scarred. Recommended for young classes who study the Vietnam war, and for kids of Vietnamese heritage or asking questions about refugees. There are very few stories about escape from Vietnam during the war that are young kid friendly, so this fills a big hole. And Thao Lam’s artwork is incredible.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful picture book. Wordless picture books are among my favorites, and this one is beautifully done both in the style of the art - beautiful collages and line drawing - and in the construction of the narrative. Reading the author's note at the end and then going back to the beginning of the story makes it more meaningful. This books is infinitely re-readable between examining the beautiful art and examining different pieces of the narrative. I absolutely recommend this book, particularly when taken in context with study of the war in Vietnam. Refugee stories are also always timely and deserving of empathetic close reading.

A beautifully done book. The pictures tell the story very poignantly. I can see lots of potential uses in the classroom, from understanding visual literacy to symbolism and color use. What a beautifully done book!

Thank you Netgalley and Owlkids books for access to this arc.

The collage style illustrations are okay but not the best I've seen done. However the reason I'm not grading this higher is the fact that without any descriptions or dialog, it's hard to understand what is going on and I say this as an adult who knows the history of the Vietnam War (or the American War as the Vietnamese themselves call it) and of the boat people who fled. Once I read the author's note - which comes at the end of the book - I understood the book's intentions better but for the younger children the book is aimed at, I don't think this will help much. Older children, who might understand better, would probably be slightly bored with it.

Thao Lam gives us a visually moving wordless picture book about immigration and refugees. We follow a little boy and his family as they flee their home, but we also follow a family of ants as well. The collage pictures are moving and tell the story beautifully. The colors are nice as well, a lot of darker cool tone colors with muted warmer tone colors throughout.
Thanks Netgalley and OwlKids books for the chance to read and review this story.

Lam’s story The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story incorporates collages to show readers a moving refugee story as one family escapes from Vietnam after the country has been ravaged by war.
The front and end matter of the book contain illustrations of newspapers that chronologically document the events of the Vietnam War. With the exception of the author’s note at the end of the book these front page newspaper articles are the only text in the story. For readers who don’t know about the Vietnam War, the headlines help provide context for the story.

Lam’s artwork is beautifully crafted and the predominantly contrasting light and dark colour scheme of white, black and greys reminds readers that this tale includes both emotionally dark and bright, hopeful subject matter. The parallel storylines of the Vietnamese family and the ants leaving on boats was nicely done, especially since Lam provides insight about how ants live and function as a colony and shares her family’s experiences to highlight the relevance of ants to Lam’s maternal history.

I think that this book would be fantastic for young children who aren’t able to read yet, youngsters who are visual learners or creative kids who would enjoy creating a narrative to accompany Lam’s artwork. For teachers, you could use this story book as a basis for reading and writing activities in which students can write an accompanying narrative for the artwork, or determine (chronological) sequencing. It could also be the inspiration for an art class where students create their own collages/collage stories.

I highly recommend this book! I personally think it’s a great read for people of all ages. As an adult, the lack of text serves to make the adult reader question the importance of narration, especially in relation to showing—not telling—a story, as well as perspective.

Many thank to Owlkids Books & Net Galley for allowing me to review this title!

The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story is both breathtaking and breathless. Framed by telling endpapers depicting headlines about the Vietnam War and the refugee crisis it created, this heart-wrenching story follows two parallel tales of migration: that of a Vietnamese family like the author/illustrator’s and that of the ants from their kitchen table.

Based on Thao Lam’s own mother’s story of their escape from Vietnam, the images in this book start with a family. Following a mother and child through the tall brush, hiding from the North Vietnamese Vietcong soldiers, until they ultimately follow a trail of ants to the river, the wordless paper-collage images are frightening to look at. The child falls. The mother hides her. A moment of hope from a boat made from the wrapping of a bao bun.

Displacing the trauma of the actual story--pirates, drowning, food shortages, death--from shore to shore we follow the ants in that same paper boat. It is quite smart to shift this experience to a less-identifiable character. While not removing the disaster entirely (we have enough watered-down history), it gives young people the ability to experience the story without the reading becoming retraumatizing.

I must admit, I don’t think that I’ve ever read a book about refugees. This children’s picture book is so heartfelt without even using words.

I love her comparison of ants and refugees and how sometimes they have to uproot their lives and those of they’re families when the colonies are threatened.

Very good book for kids and adults of all ages.