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Lines
It starts with a line. Whether made by the tip of a pencil
or the blade of a skate, the magic starts there.
A wordless story about a young skater on a frozen pond and an artist.
or the blade of a skate, the magic starts there.
A wordless story about a young skater on a frozen pond and an artist.
34 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2017
5 people are currently reading
322 people want to read
About the author
Suzy Lee
37 books135 followersSuzy Lee is an artist and illustrator, born in Seoul, Korea. She received her BFA in painting from Seoul National University and her MA in Book Arts from Camberwell College of Arts, London. Her books and paintings have won numerous international awards and have been featured in exhibitions worldwide.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
December 8, 2017
Wave, Shadow, Mirror, Zoo, and now Lines, which for some time takes Lee's already spare approach to bare bones: Lines, made by skates, for a young figure-skater, and for an artist, perhaps the artist herself. Beginning with the simple line, creation.
And then, one falls, and the artist crumples the paper into a ball, it's not working. It's a process, involving failure after failure, to get to what you want to achieve.
And then, the girl, sitting on the ice after a fall, sees--for the first time--another girl take a fall.
And then, all over the ice, falling, and not falling, playing around, and what might have seemed exclusively like serious work for the girl also becomes just fun, for all the kids on the ice, and her. So much gets said through the few images, so much to discuss with kids about work and play and achievement and the place of failure on the road to success. I love how the initial minimalist lines on the full sized pages become filled with kids. I liked this muted, reflective, thoughtful book so much.
My middle school kids, swimming, playing soccer (football!), drawing, playing the piano, singing in the choir, reading and writing and making in school, helping them learn to create, trying to help them find a balance between joy and serious commitment in the acts of creation.
And then, one falls, and the artist crumples the paper into a ball, it's not working. It's a process, involving failure after failure, to get to what you want to achieve.
And then, the girl, sitting on the ice after a fall, sees--for the first time--another girl take a fall.
And then, all over the ice, falling, and not falling, playing around, and what might have seemed exclusively like serious work for the girl also becomes just fun, for all the kids on the ice, and her. So much gets said through the few images, so much to discuss with kids about work and play and achievement and the place of failure on the road to success. I love how the initial minimalist lines on the full sized pages become filled with kids. I liked this muted, reflective, thoughtful book so much.
My middle school kids, swimming, playing soccer (football!), drawing, playing the piano, singing in the choir, reading and writing and making in school, helping them learn to create, trying to help them find a balance between joy and serious commitment in the acts of creation.
January 31, 2019
Another wonderful picture book with no text by Suzy Lee. A girl goes skating and makes lines on the ice. We enjoyed the part where you realise she is drawing as she falls the paper she is drawn on is screwed up or did she fall because the paper was screwed up? Then it is flattened and others help her up and skate with her, this is also reflected in the drawing as the screwed up page echoes the ice used by many in contrast to the perfect flat paper at the start of the book where the girl alone made lines on the fresh ice. These are beautiful drawings, I appreciated the ease with which the artist captures the movement of the skater and how well observed the poses used for skating had been drawn. A pleasure to look through for all ages!
June 8, 2025
“Linhas” é uma metanarrativa ilustrada em que se começa a seguir uma pequena patinadora até sermos surpreendidos tal como ela. É prodigioso o que Suzy Lee consegue fazer com alguns traços e sombra.
January 30, 2022
Korean picture-book artist Suzy Lee, whose previous wordless picture-books,
Wave
and
Shadow
, were both chosen as New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year, returns to the form in Lines, a gorgeous exploration of lines (naturally), ice-skating, and learning to start over, when one has made a mistake. The girl depicted in Lee's artwork swoops and swirls over the ice, making lines with her skates. Her fall is mirrored by Lee herself, in a meta-fictional move, as the artwork shows a crumpled piece of paper, directly after the fall. But then the girl notices other skaters, and is helped to her feet by one of them...
As someone who greatly admires Lee's work, I picked up Lines fully expecting to enjoy it, and I was not disappointed. There is such a sense of energy and motion in her illustrations here, that one almost feels as if one is zipping along on the ice as well! As always, I appreciate artists who aren't afraid of the white space on the page, and am always struck by how immediate and powerful Lee's pictures are, despite (or perhaps because of) their simplicity. The sparing use of color here - the limited bits of red used in depicting the girl-skater's hat - is also astute, creating a truly wintry feeling, while the lines themselves are sometimes quite beautiful. I particularly liked when the skater's swoops and swirls created a design that almost looked like music. Recommended to Suzy Lee fans, to those seeking wordless picture-books, or to anyone looking for stories about skating and/or trying again, when at first one fails.
As someone who greatly admires Lee's work, I picked up Lines fully expecting to enjoy it, and I was not disappointed. There is such a sense of energy and motion in her illustrations here, that one almost feels as if one is zipping along on the ice as well! As always, I appreciate artists who aren't afraid of the white space on the page, and am always struck by how immediate and powerful Lee's pictures are, despite (or perhaps because of) their simplicity. The sparing use of color here - the limited bits of red used in depicting the girl-skater's hat - is also astute, creating a truly wintry feeling, while the lines themselves are sometimes quite beautiful. I particularly liked when the skater's swoops and swirls created a design that almost looked like music. Recommended to Suzy Lee fans, to those seeking wordless picture-books, or to anyone looking for stories about skating and/or trying again, when at first one fails.
October 19, 2018
Sorry, but... I don't get it.
I'm not new to wordless picture books. I actually quite like them. But this one fell really flat for me. Unlike books like I Walk with Vanessa (which has a story with a message), Journey (which is just a great adventure), or even Flora and the Flamingo (which can be forgiven for having a thin story because its pictures are so darn cute), Lines didn't have anything to engage me. The pictures were rather boring, and the "story" wasn't really anything. And I found it confusing. Was the skater the artist? Or was it the person holding the pencil? What's the significance of the pond at the end? Or the stack of drawings? This is a children's picture book; I shouldn't have to think so hard for it to make sense.
I have a feeling that, had I encountered this as a kid, I would've read it once and then promptly forgotten about it. It's the sort of thing that adults will probably appreciate more than kids (although, I can't say that this adult enjoyed it that much, either).
I'm not new to wordless picture books. I actually quite like them. But this one fell really flat for me. Unlike books like I Walk with Vanessa (which has a story with a message), Journey (which is just a great adventure), or even Flora and the Flamingo (which can be forgiven for having a thin story because its pictures are so darn cute), Lines didn't have anything to engage me. The pictures were rather boring, and the "story" wasn't really anything. And I found it confusing. Was the skater the artist? Or was it the person holding the pencil? What's the significance of the pond at the end? Or the stack of drawings? This is a children's picture book; I shouldn't have to think so hard for it to make sense.
I have a feeling that, had I encountered this as a kid, I would've read it once and then promptly forgotten about it. It's the sort of thing that adults will probably appreciate more than kids (although, I can't say that this adult enjoyed it that much, either).
September 7, 2023
Beautiful - visual poetry. This is a truly innovative book. I found myself thinking beyond this book; to concepts that it was introducing to me. This is just the kind of book that helps you 'think outside the box' - and then add things to the box that you would never have considered before. A truly interesting book!
September 18, 2017
Just beautiful. Classic Suzy Lee. The cover is duel textured. Truly cool. You can imagine so many stories throughout the stunning wordless pages. Perfect for all year round and especially perfect during the winter ice skating months. I love it and better yet-so will the kids!
December 2, 2017
A lone skater gracefully dances across these snow white pages leaving lines in their wake. The figure twirls and glides happily, until they suffer a stumble, prompting the penciller to scrap everything. But this action leads to a new idea, and in slides another skater, and another… The once-white pages become a pencil-smudged rink, with many skaters etching their lines into its surface. Pencil crayons (used in the winter gear) add a lovely splash of colour to the different grey tones produced by the pencils. While the book is completely wordless, the lines themselves, in their loops and swirls give the impression of a musical sound, dictating our pace and our feelings towards this story. Lee’s work is an absolutely elegant study in line, space, movement, and form, and it’s one of the most beautiful picture books out there right now.
September 9, 2017
Beautiful, surprising wordless picture book.
September 13, 2017
There are so many awesome messages packed into this beautiful wordless picture book. "It starts with a line," promises the book's jacket. And with that and a limited palette (the illustrations are rendered in pencil and the only color is red, in the skater's hat and mittens, until the end when there is a whole pond of people enjoying themselves), the magic begins. The book starts with a solitary skater sailing, gliding, and twirling on the ice and one can almost imagine music accompanying this turn on the ice. But as a tumble occurs, we learn that everyone else takes a fall at one time or another, and we can smile and make the best of it. This book would be a great way to help develop a growth mindset, as there's a great lesson in picking yourself up and continuing with your passion - whether it's skating, writing, drawing or any other pursuit.
July 8, 2017
Suzy Lee always delivers. And Lines doesn't disappoint with her signature wordless storytelling style relying on her gorgeous illustrations to take readers into unexpected places!
September 16, 2017
A joy of a book, with so much opportunity for discussion.
December 7, 2022
This is probably better than 3 stars, but I unfortunately read it right after I read the absolutely transcendent Shadow, and it suffered in comparison. Still good!
July 2, 2019
Époustouflant!!!!
May 4, 2023
是会让人“哇”出声的绘本
July 26, 2017
Oh, wow! This is a stunning wordless picture book. Using simple pencil illustrations, the artist provides readers with a figure skater who is tracing lines across the ice. The lines get more and more complicated, and she adds several embellishments, even following the skater as she leaps into the air, pirouettes, and falls to the ice. Suddenly, the scene draws back, and the ice becomes something else and something more. Not only does she end up making a snow angel against the ice, but another skater comes to her assistance, and suddenly, a whole crowd of young skaters forms a conga line along the iced-over pond. The end papers show a pencil and eraser in the front of the book and then the pond where all this took place in the back of the book. What an interesting study in perspective, and what a great collection of images for inspiring others to tell their own story of what's happening in the scenes. I was drawn into each separate scene and felt as though I, too, were flying along that ice along with the girl.
November 13, 2019
This wordless picture book is about a girl who ice skates. A theme that is presented in this book is if you do not succeed, try again. There is very little color in the illustrations and not a lot of detail. This book would probably be for older students because the book is a little boring. There is not a lot of movement despite all the lines that are presented. I would not use this in my classroom, except if it was one of the only books that I had to teach my students about wordless books with. The book was super bland. I could not see much emotion, so I just felt bored looking at the mostly blank pages. Maybe someone younger would enjoy the art in this book, but I did not. I usually love wordless books, but I feel like this is a poor example. Maybe there is something that I missed that makes this book special, but for now I would have to say that I did not enjoy this book.
September 28, 2017
When the paper was crumpled up, it caught me; I was concerned for the skater. Everything had been swooping and flowing in such a lovely--albeit almost lonely manner--and then Fullstop! Good heavens. So very glad that
July 24, 2017
I love how the lines represent movement...absolutely brilliant!
September 9, 2017
Beautiful wordless picture book. Pair with The Book of Mistakes.
September 30, 2017
Beautiful wordless picture book. The layout at the end with all of the skaters left me pouring over the illustration for awhile.
January 18, 2018
Like the Book of Mistakes but with no words... and that didn't hurt the impact at all. Which is to say... this is lovely and I liked it a lot.
December 9, 2017
This is a gorgeous and exciting book, one that will benefit by an initial examination of the front and back endpapers. From that point I'd urge gliding through it as smoothly and effortlessly as the skater moves. Eventually, a thorough visual narrative exploration is worth a deep dive, discussions could be endless, and it will pair well with other picture books elevating mistakes and errors to valuable learning steps in a creative process.
January 5, 2023
3-minute-read illustration book about a young skater skating on a frozen pond. The art style is rather unique since the artist only used grey, black, and red for the illustrations.
February 28, 2023
Creo que ha sido el que más me ha gustado. Un dibujo "sencillo" pero precioso. 💜
August 26, 2024
Pretty. Interesting gimmick
June 12, 2021
Beautiful picture book.
November 12, 2017
4.5 stars
Since first reading (and rereading) Suzy Lee's award-winning wordless picture books Wave , Mirror , and Shadow in succession, I have been a dedicated fan of the author-illustrator's work. Sophisticated, experimental yet approachable for all ages of reader, Lee's work is sublime, surprising and something to behold. In her latest wordless picture book Lines, Suzy Lee starts with the glide of a pencil tip to tell a gently- quietly- ebullient and ingenious tale.
Like a story within a story, Lines has layers and dimensions that draws the reader in and plays with perceptions about a story's narrative, artwork, interruptions in reader experience, and how artists can turn a supposed slip back into something picture-perfect. Readers fall under the spell of an ice skater, watching as their blade cuts more and more lines of various width, shape, and weight into the ice. As the skater's moves become more complicated, we see the ice become a patchwork of busier and busier carved lines until the ice skater leaps into a jump, spins in the air and--- then-- the story stops, restarts, and finishes in wonderful and surprising ways. Lee plays here so well with format and dimension, testing and nudging the reader into experiencing the story as both a journey of an artist working their way through a story and a standalone wintry narrative.
Lee's work in Lines is terrific, thoughtful and understated brilliance, and I continue to be such a fan of her work. If you haven't yet had a chance to explore Suzy Lee's work, I highly recommend taking a look through the artist's entire oeuvre up to and including this latest treat.
I received a copy of this title courtesy of Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.
Since first reading (and rereading) Suzy Lee's award-winning wordless picture books Wave , Mirror , and Shadow in succession, I have been a dedicated fan of the author-illustrator's work. Sophisticated, experimental yet approachable for all ages of reader, Lee's work is sublime, surprising and something to behold. In her latest wordless picture book Lines, Suzy Lee starts with the glide of a pencil tip to tell a gently- quietly- ebullient and ingenious tale.
Like a story within a story, Lines has layers and dimensions that draws the reader in and plays with perceptions about a story's narrative, artwork, interruptions in reader experience, and how artists can turn a supposed slip back into something picture-perfect. Readers fall under the spell of an ice skater, watching as their blade cuts more and more lines of various width, shape, and weight into the ice. As the skater's moves become more complicated, we see the ice become a patchwork of busier and busier carved lines until the ice skater leaps into a jump, spins in the air and--- then-- the story stops, restarts, and finishes in wonderful and surprising ways. Lee plays here so well with format and dimension, testing and nudging the reader into experiencing the story as both a journey of an artist working their way through a story and a standalone wintry narrative.
Lee's work in Lines is terrific, thoughtful and understated brilliance, and I continue to be such a fan of her work. If you haven't yet had a chance to explore Suzy Lee's work, I highly recommend taking a look through the artist's entire oeuvre up to and including this latest treat.
I received a copy of this title courtesy of Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.
November 29, 2017
Suzy Lee again shows what happens when she does her magic with a pencil and allows a young girl to ice skate with swirls and twirls, zigzags and wiggles. She adds some crumpled paper and a couple of skating "falls" and a marvelous surprise that really, anyone will appreciate. My granddaughter and I read this, and she loved it. I read it again and again, still wonderful!
November 6, 2019
Both kiddo and I didn't really get it. I think it's just a taste thing. It's visually lovely, I could see it being something that would appeal to others.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews