The Red Book (Caldecott Honor Book)
by Barbara Lehman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Barbara LehmanBrand: Houghton Mifflin
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-09-27
ISBN: 0618428585
Number of pages: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780618428588
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Red Book (Caldecott Honor Book)
Book Review: The Rorschach Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This book-within-a-book has the power of Shakespeare's fantasy sequences, the mischief of Twain, and the clever trickery of Lewis Carroll. "The Red Book" is open to multiple interpretations, even by the same reader! It's all beguiling illustrations, but they're drawn so seamlessly that they suggest the magical story about two children drawn increasingly closer to each other. I say "suggest" because this is a highly interactive book: Your experiences and those of your child will inform the shape and tone of Lehman's deft presentation.
The Plot and the Parallels:
A big city schoolgirl uncovers a red book almost hidden by the snow. As she reads the book she finds a map of an island, and the book's pictures get progressively closer to the island. Finally, the girl turns to a page in which she sees a boy on the beach of this island; the boy is holding a red book which leads him closer and closer to a picture of the big city schoolgirl in her apartment. They apparently have found the same red book, or two red books with the same storyline but different points of view. This red book, as it is read, leads each child to pictures of the other child reading the book! In one particularly astonishing illustration, we see the girl looking out her window with wonder, while her open book reveals the boy (with a similar expression) with his open book showing the picture of the same girl we see looking out of her window! Film buffs may associate this dualism with "Strangers on a Train," or "Blow-Up," whereas literature has parallels (pun intended) in "Lolita" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." While these works have an association with evil or moral ambiguity, "The Red Book" reassuringly shows that when the girl and boy see each other they smile; they're definitely glad to see each other.
Wanting to visit the boy in her book, the girl buys big, brightly colored helium balloons and flies (again, with a smile) over the city and towards the ocean. As she takes off, she accidentally drops the red book on a grey-bricked wharf. (The contrasting patterns and textures of reddish and grey rectangular books, round balloons in the distance, lapping waves of blue-green ocean, and light snow falling against a grey and white sky is inspired). Through the open pages of this dropped book, we view the boy on the island. As the pages turn (or, is it one illustrated page that acts like a window into the island?) we see that the boy sees (while reading more of HIS red book) that the girl is flying, holding onto her balloons. As she flies out of the red book's picture, he becomes sad and looks away from the book. However, the reader of Barbara Lehman's "The Red Book" can still follow the adventure through the book on the wharf. The girl lands safely, and she and the boy happily meet each other. Finally, we see one of the girl's classmates (you wouldn't know who he is without looking back at one of the earlier pages) picking up the red book that the girl dropped onto the wharf. He rides away on his bicycle, casting an enigmatic look towards the reader, as if he has found a treasure that doesn't quite belong to him but that he's going to keep anyway (my interpretation).
The Adult's Red Book
There's enough going on here to inspire spirited discussions among adults: Is the red book (the one pictured in "The Red Book") a symbolic representation of how those fortunate enough might find a kindred spirit or "soul mate?" You (the adult) could go even further. Perhaps it is a representation of the discovery of sexuality or an illustration of how power can be used for good or bad? Most likely, "The Red Book" (the one seems to say something about the power of reading: The power to take us on imaginative journeys, to project ourselves and our feelings onto others, and to discover new things about ourselves. It could be a combination of many ideas, depending on the reader. The book will be enormously appealing to adults interested in such questions (after all, look at the popularity of the similarly themed, but more aggressively marketed "Griffin and Sabine"), as well as those who appreciate a stimulating story with beautiful illustrations.
The Kids' Red Book
However, adults may wonder whether it will interest young readers. I think it will, although much will depend on the personality, interests, and age of the child. Some children will enjoy and understand the twin reflecting fantasies, and will come up with the kinds of questions posed above. (Younger children may not get all the nuances, but will probably understand that the boy and girl can see each other through the pictures in two very similar looking red books.) Other children may be a bit disturbed and/or turned off by the ambiguity, the difficulty in navigating the converging plotlines, and the uncertain conclusion. Let your knowledge about your child's psychology and your own attitudes about abstract fantasies guide you in deciding whether this belongs on his or her bookshelf. Personally, I think that this is an incredibly intriguing, brilliantly conceived and realized, and exceptionally illustrated book that can be enjoyed by children and an older audience as well. It's an amazing book that succeeds on many levels, one that could be read--almost as if for the first time--for many years to come.
Summary of The Red Book (Caldecott Honor Book)
This book is about a book. A magical red book without any words. When you turn the pages you?ll experience a new kind of adventure through the power of story.
In illustrations of rare detail and surprise, The Red Book crosses oceans and continents to deliver one girl into a new world of possibility, where a friend she?s never met is waiting. And as with the best of books, at the conclusion of the story, the journey is not over.
In illustrations of rare detail and surprise, The Red Book crosses oceans and continents to deliver one girl into a new world of possibility, where a friend she?s never met is waiting. And as with the best of books, at the conclusion of the story, the journey is not over.
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