Title: The Paper Bridge by Joelle Veyrenc and Seng Soun Ratanavanh
Reviewed by: Jami, Youth Services Assistant
Genre: Children's literature
Suggested ages: 4-7 years
What is this book about?
Filled with stunning kirigami art (the Japanese art of paper cutting and folding), The Paper Bridge tells the story of Anya, a young girl made of paper from the town of Paperlee. When a strong wind starts blowing the paper townspeople and buildings of Paperlee all over the place, Anya bravely decides to fashion a bridge out of paper to investigate the stiff and structured neighboring cardboard town of Forestlee, which seems to be where the wind originates. Can Anya work with the Forestlee townspeople to figure out the source of the wind and how to stop it from disrupting life in Paperlee?
My review:
Impressively, illustrator Seng Soun Ratanavanh taught herself the art of kirigami especially for The Paper Bridge, combining the craft with pencil and watercolor to create the charming and evocative scenes featured in the book. Combined with a sweet and hopeful story about different types of people working together to solve a problem, this book is absolutely worth checking out!