Paperboy

by Danny Parker, Bethany Macdonald

Paperboy is a journey through the salient moments of a young boy's life – the fears, the trials, the tragedies and the small triumphs – with each moment contemplated in terms of paper.
Tissue paper that tears too readily, fly paper to which nasty things adhere, folded paper with which to create hope. Paperboy is written by Danny Parker, whose poetic prose for young readers has won him prestigious awards.

Bethany Macdonald's robust expressionist collages both embody and illustrate the themes of this poignant story.

Genres: Picture Books

40 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2019

Reviews

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danny Parker writes with a tight, semi poetic and minimalist style to deal with memories, loss, moving on and how the sum of life's experiences make us what we are. Through the eyes of a young boy moving house and the various boxes not unpacked, and the cracks within them - starting with a family photo broken in half, separate images of parents - the boy tires to mend the cracks, and build a safe place. The story is told as much through the illustrations as the text with amazing paper collages of all sorts of paper and card, some more robust than others, and some, such as tissues that are good for tears but not for mending.

Shortlisted for the 2020 CBCA Book of the Year: New Illustrator - Bethany Macdonald's art work is stunning and adds depth and nuance to this moving story.

[Lara Bate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Paperboy by Danny Parker is a story of a boy made of paper. He makes different things from paper. It is a bit of a gloomy book.

[Chils27 · Rating 4 out of 5]

the story is not clearly outlined (too ambiguous for children) but the paper collage is excellent.