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Tibet: Through the Red Box
A father's diary, an artist's memoir. By the author of the best-selling Three Golden Keys. While my father was in China and Tibet, he kept a diary, which was later locked in a red box. We weren't allowed to touch the box. The stories I heard as a little boy faded to a hazy dream, and my drawings from that time make no sense. I cannot decipher them. It was not until I myself had gone far, far away and received the message from my father that I became interested in the red box again . . . In New York, Peter Sis receives a letter from his father. "The Red Box is now yours," it says. The brief note worries him and pulls him back to Prague, where the contents of the red box explain the mystery of his father's long absence during the 1950s. Czechoslovakia was behind the iron curtain; Vladimir Sis, a documentary filmmaker of considerable talent, was drafted into the army and sent to China to teach filmmaking. He left his wife, daughter, and young son, Peter, thinking he would be home for Christmas. Two Christmases would pass before he was heard from Vladimir Sis was lost in Tibet. He met with the Dalai Lama; he witnessed China's invasion of Tibet. When he returned to Prague, he dared not talk to his friends about all he had seen and experienced. But over and over again he told Peter about his Tibetan adventures. Weaving their two stories together - that of the father lost in Tibet and that of the small boy in Prague, lost without his father - Sis draws from his father's diary and from his own recollections of his father's incredible tales to reach a spiritual homecoming between father and son. With his sublime pictures, inspired by Tibetan Buddhist art and linking history to memory, Peter Sis gives us an extraordinary book - a work of singular artistry and rare imagination. This title has Common Core connections. Tibet Through the Red Box is a 1999 Caldecott Honor Book and the winner of the 1999 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Special Citation.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
9 people are currently reading
876 people want to read
About the author
Peter Sís
111 books231 followersPETER SÍS is an internationally acclaimed illustrator, filmmaker, painter and author. Born in 1949 in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and grew up in Prague. He studied painting and filmmaking at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague and the Royal College of Art in London. His animated work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. He came to America in 1982, and now lives in New York's Hudson Valley with his family. Peter Sís is the first children's book artist to be named a MacArthur Fellow. In 2012 he won The Hans Christian Andersen Award.
His many distinguished books include Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei, Tibet: Through the Red Box, Madlenka, Rainbow Rhino, The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin, The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, and The Conference of the Birds.
His many distinguished books include Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei, Tibet: Through the Red Box, Madlenka, Rainbow Rhino, The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin, The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, and The Conference of the Birds.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
July 12, 2019
This story feels like something the author actually went through as a kid. I think this is like a memoir of stuff his dad told him. There is a poem at the end, so we know that there is a lot of even more great stories that were left out of this telling. There are pages written like a diary entry and then there is the telling of a story in a font in a book and pages of pictures only. It’s really interesting.
This is long, but it’s an amazing story. The boy in this story has a father that goes missing for a time when he is recruited to teach the Chinese how to make a documentary film. They are filming the making of the road into Tibet that lead to the destruction and take over of Tibet. He gets cut off from the Chinese and he makes his way into the territory of Tibet and the ‘Roof of the World’ and sees many magical and wonderful things. I love the stories. I love how Peter Sis tells this story. He uses hints of Tibetan art and colors mixed with Czech art to tell the 2 culture’s story. He weaves in his memories of his dad with the diary his dad left behind of his experience. It must have been a wonderful place. I wish it could still stand like it was. I know when the Chinese invaded it let out this culture to the world and we are better for it, but it seems like such heaven on Earth and a sad thing to lose.
This is a very long and thick story. It took us 3 nights to read this completely. It was too long for the kids. Yet, the niece really enjoyed this and she wanted to know if it was real. I told her, it was a real account of one person. She gave this 4 stars. So did the nephew. He loved that there was a place for abominable snowmen. There were skulls and other cool monster in here for him. He thought it too long, but he still liked the story in places.
This is long, but it’s an amazing story. The boy in this story has a father that goes missing for a time when he is recruited to teach the Chinese how to make a documentary film. They are filming the making of the road into Tibet that lead to the destruction and take over of Tibet. He gets cut off from the Chinese and he makes his way into the territory of Tibet and the ‘Roof of the World’ and sees many magical and wonderful things. I love the stories. I love how Peter Sis tells this story. He uses hints of Tibetan art and colors mixed with Czech art to tell the 2 culture’s story. He weaves in his memories of his dad with the diary his dad left behind of his experience. It must have been a wonderful place. I wish it could still stand like it was. I know when the Chinese invaded it let out this culture to the world and we are better for it, but it seems like such heaven on Earth and a sad thing to lose.
This is a very long and thick story. It took us 3 nights to read this completely. It was too long for the kids. Yet, the niece really enjoyed this and she wanted to know if it was real. I told her, it was a real account of one person. She gave this 4 stars. So did the nephew. He loved that there was a place for abominable snowmen. There were skulls and other cool monster in here for him. He thought it too long, but he still liked the story in places.
June 19, 2008
this is an absolutely amazing book. i thought The Wall couldn't be topped, but this?
i suppose i'm a bit biased, having been to tibet myself, and reading it now, when china has the olympics and tibetan monks are dying. but really, i don't see how you can't love this book - both for the story (of a boy learning about his father and his father lost in tibet) and the illustrations, which are truly stunning. there are stories within stories here, and i desperately wanted to be able to read sis' father's complete diary of the time.
it starts with the chinese building a road into tibet, the country in the clouds, and this group getting lost in tibet on the other side of the mountains after an accident. they wander through the country, his father urgently trying to get to lhasa (the "forbidden city" - now the capital) to warn the dali lhama of the road, and what it would bring.
what shocked me was how much of the tibet mentioned and illustrated matched the tibet i visited in 2000. the stupas everywhere, the giving of the silk scarves to welcome, the genuine openness of the people (though you could see a wariness on their faces when i was there). that everything is made from yak! the blue blue lakes and the dry mountains, the high altitude, and i swear, the drawing of potala (the dali lhama's palace) is as good as a photograph. not to mention the colored rooms are not made up.
it's an incredible book. the little details about tibetan culture and life are so true and still salient today - and yet in 2000 they were running telephone poles along dirt roads, and i almost don't want to know what lhasa looks like now. there's a mention of the slightly strange feeling you get when you enter potala - for me, it was ghostly, almost a heavy depression i could feel - because if the dali lhama returns, he will be arrested. but everything is set the same as the day he left, waiting for him to return. it's like in limbo - and it divides lhasa between the old city (tibetan side) and the new (chinese).
seriously. read this book. it's very short. it's beautiful. and there is so much in it, i need to read it again and again. and then think about the current state of tibet, the monks being murdered, the way the tibetan culture is being decimated, and at least start a conversation. to say the people there were the most peaceful people i had ever met is an understatement - they lived, breathed, and exuded peace, and they welcomed us everywhere with offers of lassis and prayer-wheels and silk scarves.
i suppose i'm a bit biased, having been to tibet myself, and reading it now, when china has the olympics and tibetan monks are dying. but really, i don't see how you can't love this book - both for the story (of a boy learning about his father and his father lost in tibet) and the illustrations, which are truly stunning. there are stories within stories here, and i desperately wanted to be able to read sis' father's complete diary of the time.
it starts with the chinese building a road into tibet, the country in the clouds, and this group getting lost in tibet on the other side of the mountains after an accident. they wander through the country, his father urgently trying to get to lhasa (the "forbidden city" - now the capital) to warn the dali lhama of the road, and what it would bring.
what shocked me was how much of the tibet mentioned and illustrated matched the tibet i visited in 2000. the stupas everywhere, the giving of the silk scarves to welcome, the genuine openness of the people (though you could see a wariness on their faces when i was there). that everything is made from yak! the blue blue lakes and the dry mountains, the high altitude, and i swear, the drawing of potala (the dali lhama's palace) is as good as a photograph. not to mention the colored rooms are not made up.
it's an incredible book. the little details about tibetan culture and life are so true and still salient today - and yet in 2000 they were running telephone poles along dirt roads, and i almost don't want to know what lhasa looks like now. there's a mention of the slightly strange feeling you get when you enter potala - for me, it was ghostly, almost a heavy depression i could feel - because if the dali lhama returns, he will be arrested. but everything is set the same as the day he left, waiting for him to return. it's like in limbo - and it divides lhasa between the old city (tibetan side) and the new (chinese).
seriously. read this book. it's very short. it's beautiful. and there is so much in it, i need to read it again and again. and then think about the current state of tibet, the monks being murdered, the way the tibetan culture is being decimated, and at least start a conversation. to say the people there were the most peaceful people i had ever met is an understatement - they lived, breathed, and exuded peace, and they welcomed us everywhere with offers of lassis and prayer-wheels and silk scarves.
March 9, 2017
This is a really unique book. I would consider it a book for older children or even adults. It's a strangely magical book that just sucks you into it. I envy Peter Sis for his red box and his unique father who really 'saw' Tibet. It is funny the difference in perspective between the father and the people building the road. One person saw a wonderful land and group of people and the other saw danger and barbarians.
Really a unique thing.
Really a unique thing.
February 17, 2021
Definitely swimming against the current on this one, but I just didn't get it - I have no idea what the intended audience is for this thing. It's generally listed as a "children's book," and the writing is definitely aimed at a young audience...but I just can't imagine the story itself being of interest - or making sense - to young'uns anywhere. But obviously most other reviewers - as well as the good folks at Farrar, Straus and Giroux - saw something here that I missed, so this must be one of those "it's not you, it's me" situations.
Also, I couldn't tell if this is a semi-autographical story based on (admittedly B.S.) tales Sís' father actually told him, or if it's a wholly made up fable...i.e., is this intended to be history, or historical fiction? Because there's no explanation or indication either in the book itself or on the internet.
This marks the 60th book on my "Tibet" GR bookshelf, so it's not like I'm disinterested in this topic. And as this started off with an almost Heinrich Harrer-type character heading off to warn the Dalai Lama about the approaching Chinese, I thought this might be right in my "Cold War at the Top of the World" wheelhouse, (although again, none of which being what I consider a typical "children's tale").
But apparently not...
Also, I couldn't tell if this is a semi-autographical story based on (admittedly B.S.) tales Sís' father actually told him, or if it's a wholly made up fable...i.e., is this intended to be history, or historical fiction? Because there's no explanation or indication either in the book itself or on the internet.
This marks the 60th book on my "Tibet" GR bookshelf, so it's not like I'm disinterested in this topic. And as this started off with an almost Heinrich Harrer-type character heading off to warn the Dalai Lama about the approaching Chinese, I thought this might be right in my "Cold War at the Top of the World" wheelhouse, (although again, none of which being what I consider a typical "children's tale").
But apparently not...
January 23, 2017
Text: 3 stars
Art: 5 stars
Hard to know what is real and what is fantasy or a dream; the text fuses these together, leaving me confused. Also, the story arc feels incomplete. They reach the Dalai Lama, but what happens when they tell him about the encroaching road? Do they ever reconnect with the road crew? Did the road crew even survive the crumbling mountain? How does the author's father get home to Prague? I'm still not clear why the author's father was away so long, or even how long he was away; there is a mention of 14 months at the end of the book, but the beginning of the story says that many Christmases had passed without him. Why did the author's father decide to give him the red box now?
The illustrations are superb. I'm not surprised this won a Caldecott Honor.
Art: 5 stars
Hard to know what is real and what is fantasy or a dream; the text fuses these together, leaving me confused. Also, the story arc feels incomplete. They reach the Dalai Lama, but what happens when they tell him about the encroaching road? Do they ever reconnect with the road crew? Did the road crew even survive the crumbling mountain? How does the author's father get home to Prague? I'm still not clear why the author's father was away so long, or even how long he was away; there is a mention of 14 months at the end of the book, but the beginning of the story says that many Christmases had passed without him. Why did the author's father decide to give him the red box now?
The illustrations are superb. I'm not surprised this won a Caldecott Honor.
June 22, 2009
Peter Sis is a gifted artist and a unique storyteller. This is a mystical story that provides a journey that will inspire the imagination, and it is relevant as geography and history for young readers.
August 11, 2024
It took me several days to get through this children's picture book. The writing changed fonts and sizes and direction often. It was chaotic. The entire book felt busy. The artwork was beautiful, but I just didn't love this one this time.
February 28, 2010
Red Box is a most personal book. Sis is writing about his father’s trip to Tibet when Peter was a young child. Within a red lacquered box, which sits upon his father’s desk, Sis discovers a diary of thin, old pages, filled with words, passages, and stories that would strain credibility. He finds the many bedtime stories his father had told him again and again – here, as a serious and first-time telling of real events.
Sis’ father was a documentary filmmaker, in now communist Czechoslovakia, and shortly after WWII was ordered away on assignment, to a “remote western province of China,” which turned out to be Tibet. The Chinese army was building a road into Tibet, and instructed the filmmaker and his crew to record the construction. This would mean cutting straight through a mountain, the road looking “like a cut into a beautiful cake.” After a disastrous landslide, the filmmaker finds himself, his cameraman, and two of his Chinese students, trapped on the other side of the mountain, away from the rest of the team. They head off in the only way they can – into Tibet. Thus, instead of recording on film the construction of a road into Tibet, he records on paper his travels through the foreign place.
It is a strange land, Tibet – home to wondrous things the men have never seen before. The mountains rise up around them like the pipes in a church organ, and the sky is endless and deep. The beauty and magic of the land inspire them, and when they finally encounter people – Tibetans they have been warned are barbaric, dark and controlled by evil lamas – they find simple joy and loveliness of character. The Father was trying to rush to the Potala (where the Dalai Lama resides) to inform the Dalai Lama of what was coming.
A good book, but the illustrations are not the best for this story. For Tibetophiles only.
Sis’ father was a documentary filmmaker, in now communist Czechoslovakia, and shortly after WWII was ordered away on assignment, to a “remote western province of China,” which turned out to be Tibet. The Chinese army was building a road into Tibet, and instructed the filmmaker and his crew to record the construction. This would mean cutting straight through a mountain, the road looking “like a cut into a beautiful cake.” After a disastrous landslide, the filmmaker finds himself, his cameraman, and two of his Chinese students, trapped on the other side of the mountain, away from the rest of the team. They head off in the only way they can – into Tibet. Thus, instead of recording on film the construction of a road into Tibet, he records on paper his travels through the foreign place.
It is a strange land, Tibet – home to wondrous things the men have never seen before. The mountains rise up around them like the pipes in a church organ, and the sky is endless and deep. The beauty and magic of the land inspire them, and when they finally encounter people – Tibetans they have been warned are barbaric, dark and controlled by evil lamas – they find simple joy and loveliness of character. The Father was trying to rush to the Potala (where the Dalai Lama resides) to inform the Dalai Lama of what was coming.
A good book, but the illustrations are not the best for this story. For Tibetophiles only.
August 11, 2017
Peter Sís has some very odd stories and this one is likely the strangest of them all. Oddly enough, it's a true story, a kind of homage to his father's travels.
The narrative is entertaining, but somewhat tough to follow, especially with his characteristic placement of the text in odd shapes and designs. And the overall message of the story seems somewhat dark and confusing.
Still, the illustrations are wonderful and the story is enlightening, with the historical context of the conflict in Tibet. We enjoyed reading this book together.
This book was selected as one of the books for the February 2017- Caldecott Honors 1998-2002 discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
The narrative is entertaining, but somewhat tough to follow, especially with his characteristic placement of the text in odd shapes and designs. And the overall message of the story seems somewhat dark and confusing.
Still, the illustrations are wonderful and the story is enlightening, with the historical context of the conflict in Tibet. We enjoyed reading this book together.
This book was selected as one of the books for the February 2017- Caldecott Honors 1998-2002 discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
November 28, 2009
This is an exquisite book. I suppose it is technichally a "children's book", but to me it transcends age. Through the lense of a young child Peter Sis tells the story of his father's trek through Tibet and the Himalayas as a documentary film maker; a position imposed upon him by the communist government of Czechoslovakia. The purpose of the trek was the filming of the first highway into Tibet as the Chinese began their intrusion of the country. Through Peter Sis' mystically beautiful artwork and charming story-telling, we get a rare and enchanting glimpse into the culture of Tibet...through the eyes of a man travelling to an exotic country for the first time, his young son who hungrily absorbed his father's tales of mystical enchantment, and Sis as an adult reading his father's journal. This is a beautiful and intriguing book that I will read again and again in the coming years.
December 18, 2016
The Red Box belong to Peter Sis's dad - it contains his father's diary of a peculiar, life-changing journey. A Czechoslovakian filmmaker during the Cold War, Sis's dad is tasked by the communist government with helping make a documentary film about a huge Chinese construction project - a great road that will cut through the mountains into the heart of Tibet. He leaves his family, travels to China and begins work, only to have part of the mountain being worked on collapse, leaving Sis and some of his fellow crew lost, eventually wandering into Tibet itself.
The tale of the journey from the diaries, and Sis's pauses to relate his memories of being told parts of this tale as a kid, is mesmerizing, and Sis's paintings and drawings convey its magic with a beautiful richness - the most moving, mystical and beautiful of his work I've seen so far, which is saying a lot.
The tale of the journey from the diaries, and Sis's pauses to relate his memories of being told parts of this tale as a kid, is mesmerizing, and Sis's paintings and drawings convey its magic with a beautiful richness - the most moving, mystical and beautiful of his work I've seen so far, which is saying a lot.
December 10, 2018
Clearly a labor of love, this would be best approached as a sort of picture book for grown ups, a large-format graphic novel. Because while I found this mysterious and beautiful and magical and fascinating, I can't imagine any child sitting through this book, not even older children (not even most teens). There are A LOT of words - pages full of words - this would be too much to read aloud to a young child. Most of the magic of the book would go right over a child head, too - an adult son reconnecting with an elderly father before he passes away, the meanings of different colors, the tale of the yeti, the fish with human faces, his father's long journey and fears for what would happen to Tibet, the unspoken grim reality of living "behind the iron curtain," and why China was not upfront about "western China" actually being Tibet. And that's just for starters!
March 2, 2016
Despite the fact that this was a Caldecott Honor Book it is not really a children's book. The pages are crammed (and I mean crammed) full of tiny details. Even after pouring over this book for an hour you won't find all of the bits. Brilliantly illustrated with recreations of his father's journal pages, maps, and different colored medallion pages that precede the three folklore stories. I was indignant that it hadn't won until I read Snowflake Bentley (that year's winner) and was slightly appeased. I think today it would win the Newbery (or a Newbery honor) because he includes the actual events of his father's trip, the folklore of the region, explores the connection between father and son, and the reader can contrast what was with what is. A really complex and beautiful book.
October 11, 2007
My college girlfriend had thing for Tibet. What college girlfriend worth her weight in salt doesn't? Wandering through a Borders one boring, Pennsylvania night we stumbled into the children's section and she found this book.
I've never liked children's book, a fact I chalk up to being considerably younger than my siblings. At any rate, when I saw Sis's book, I thought "where was this when I was little?" I'd have love it. It's remarkably complex, both in its illustrations and text. It's a book with teeth that one can fall into and get lost for days. I can think of no better compliment.
In fact, Tibet Through the Red Box is the reason I started making children's books.
I've never liked children's book, a fact I chalk up to being considerably younger than my siblings. At any rate, when I saw Sis's book, I thought "where was this when I was little?" I'd have love it. It's remarkably complex, both in its illustrations and text. It's a book with teeth that one can fall into and get lost for days. I can think of no better compliment.
In fact, Tibet Through the Red Box is the reason I started making children's books.
March 1, 2010
Like no picture book I've ever read before, this is incredibly complex. It seems to be part dream, part memory, and part memoir. It isn't really an appropriate picture book for a large group setting such as a read-aloud in a classroom or library storytime. It has very detailed pictures which need to be studied closely. In fact, I'm not sure how many children would actually be interested in reading this. It's more of a picture book for adults. Some of the illustrations are gorgeous with their color and intricacy. Others are, frankly, confusing. This made me want to learn more about Tibet or at least go re-watch that Brad Pitt movie from all those years ago.
March 27, 2016
I've been devouring everything I can find by Peter Sis since I read his wonderful The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain and this one blows me away as well. It gave me delicious goose bumps. The art complements the story beautifully. Since I just finished making some Czech Easter eggs, I'm really enjoying the symmetry of his drawings. This book is a Caldecott Honor winner but I think a lot of adults are missing out.
July 9, 2017
As I prepare for my trip to Tibet I found a lot of books on culture. Didn't realize this book was a children's book, I think it's a book for adults, or anyone. As I read it, I thought, how could this be true? Then I realized it was imagination. What a magical book! As the review in the book jacket says:
In this very personal book, Peter Sis has given us a kaleidoscope fusion of truth, dreams, and memory. It is an unforgettable work of rare imagination.
Loved this book and the vivid hues of the illustrations.
In this very personal book, Peter Sis has given us a kaleidoscope fusion of truth, dreams, and memory. It is an unforgettable work of rare imagination.
Loved this book and the vivid hues of the illustrations.
December 4, 2020
This book left me wanting more. Where is the rest of the diary? What happens next? Beautiful and mysterious, but maddeningly short!
September 11, 2024
This book is a work of history and art, melded and bound.
September 30, 2017
The Caldecott winning picture book made me think instinctively that it had something to do with ancient history by its book covering. As I read the book I seen how a traveler can enlighten another individual about how things are different for another culture. I think that the book did very good at picture illustrating the concepts the story teller was telling per culture setting. The book made me think of Greek mythology as I read due to me knowing educational about the history of ancient Greece and their ideas about Gods per living element or situation leader. I think the pictures illustrated could scare young individuals initially if they just look at the pictures because they exhibit that of a biblical stature.
Moreover, I thought the book was that for the higher elementary grades since they are more than likely the age groups that would understand the concepts of traveling to ancient places. They also could understand how an adults career choice can be one of a complex like the Father in the story who was a film maker who also helped generate the ideas behind the images present in the book. I personally think that the book cover sort of explains that its a book for the complex mind with its illustration of a maze to get to an unknown city or area. Lastly but in conclusion, I would recommend the book to 5th graders or higher based on the complexities of it scripted text and picture illustrations.
Thanks,
Vincent Reese
ASU Student ID#1000897213
Moreover, I thought the book was that for the higher elementary grades since they are more than likely the age groups that would understand the concepts of traveling to ancient places. They also could understand how an adults career choice can be one of a complex like the Father in the story who was a film maker who also helped generate the ideas behind the images present in the book. I personally think that the book cover sort of explains that its a book for the complex mind with its illustration of a maze to get to an unknown city or area. Lastly but in conclusion, I would recommend the book to 5th graders or higher based on the complexities of it scripted text and picture illustrations.
Thanks,
Vincent Reese
ASU Student ID#1000897213
February 27, 2018
Tibet: through the red box is a book that is part mythology, part travelogue, and part memoir. The story is told via a journal that tell of travels through a land untouched by the modern world where yetis still roam and folk tales live alongside reality. It is what I imagine a children's book written by Nick Bantock would be. I would definitely recommend it.
April 17, 2019
Absolutely magical, his style is very unique and refreshing, magical in unexpected and eclectic ways that always ignites a sense of beauty and wonder in me. The ending felt a tidbit cut to me, but an absolutely worthy read!
June 22, 2015
Wonderful pictures. My kids didn't really get this book. As an adult I did.
November 14, 2017
Such richness. A unique lens into Tibet. What stood out to me - the pages about a single color, the Yeti creation tale, the jingle-bell boy story, the imagery.
January 20, 2018
A magical realistic retelling of the author’s father’s adventures in Tibet.
April 23, 2018
I wonder how much is true.
January 19, 2019
Magical.
June 25, 2019
Presented as a work of nonfiction, this is a story that sounds like fiction, yet has enough unusual aspects to fit into the category of “you can’t make this stuff up.” When the author was very young and growing up in Czechoslovakia shortly after the end of World War II, his filmmaker father left on what he called an expedition. His mission was to film the Chinese construction crews as they were building a road through the mountains from China to Lhasa in Tibet. Since his father was also educating his Chinese counterparts on the making of documentaries, the expectation was that the project would only last a few months.
While working, there was a catastrophic accident of the side of a mountain caving down and the father and a few others were trapped on the other side. With no possibility of linking back up with the rest of the construction crew, their only hope was to continue forward in hopes of reaching the forbidden city of Lhasa.
This book is based on the father’s diary that was kept in a red box. Through it we are given a glimpse of what life was like in Tibet before the Chinese takeover. The people lived like they had for centuries, doing the same work in the same ways. Despite their clear foreign origin and strangeness, the Tibetans were very friendly and always willing to help them.
There are many interesting and unusual situations in this adventure, the most unusual involves a letter carrier. After the collapse of the mountain as the stranded team was making their way towards Lhasa, a small boy wearing bells suddenly appeared. He hands the father a letter from his family, giving new meaning to the postal carrier’s mantra, “Neither snow nor rain . . . “
This is a great story; it is easy to see why it was a winner of a Caldecott Honor.
While working, there was a catastrophic accident of the side of a mountain caving down and the father and a few others were trapped on the other side. With no possibility of linking back up with the rest of the construction crew, their only hope was to continue forward in hopes of reaching the forbidden city of Lhasa.
This book is based on the father’s diary that was kept in a red box. Through it we are given a glimpse of what life was like in Tibet before the Chinese takeover. The people lived like they had for centuries, doing the same work in the same ways. Despite their clear foreign origin and strangeness, the Tibetans were very friendly and always willing to help them.
There are many interesting and unusual situations in this adventure, the most unusual involves a letter carrier. After the collapse of the mountain as the stranded team was making their way towards Lhasa, a small boy wearing bells suddenly appeared. He hands the father a letter from his family, giving new meaning to the postal carrier’s mantra, “Neither snow nor rain . . . “
This is a great story; it is easy to see why it was a winner of a Caldecott Honor.
November 8, 2023
This book is very unique and interesting, I am glad that I found it. I say it is unique because this book's main focus in my opinion is not the story, but the imagery and illustrations. It really puts a lot of effort of making us see what his father saw, by having incredible illustrations and an amazing way of describing every detail there is. It is very weird how this book is structured, sometimes in a form of a diary and sometimes illustrations, I have personally never seen a book like this, but that is other thing that makes it unique. I guess if I had to explain what this book is I would say it's a memoir, combined with beautifull illustrations and very good writting.
I do see some problems with the book however, even if the story goes to the second priority like I said before, I think there are many things that don't match or the story just doesn't elaborate more on. The story is about the father wanting to see Dalai Lama to tell him about a broken road, and from there the story explains his experiences and all of the things I mentioned above. But the story loses it's way sometimes and doesn't answer the questions we get when we read the book, for example; what happened when his father saw Dalai Lama? did they fix the road? How did the story ended? We also don't get any information on how did the father came back home. The book can live with this uncertainty because what really matters in my opinion are the superb illustrations and imagery.
I do see some problems with the book however, even if the story goes to the second priority like I said before, I think there are many things that don't match or the story just doesn't elaborate more on. The story is about the father wanting to see Dalai Lama to tell him about a broken road, and from there the story explains his experiences and all of the things I mentioned above. But the story loses it's way sometimes and doesn't answer the questions we get when we read the book, for example; what happened when his father saw Dalai Lama? did they fix the road? How did the story ended? We also don't get any information on how did the father came back home. The book can live with this uncertainty because what really matters in my opinion are the superb illustrations and imagery.
August 28, 2017
• 1999 Caldecott Honor Book •
I love Peter Sis' illustrations - they're exquisite. He writes about incredibly interesting events, but something about his writing always makes me feel lost. His writing is flowery, and I wish it was more direct and simple. "Tibet" is the true story of his father, a filmmaker, who went to Tibet to make a movie and got lost there during a snowstorm for over a year in the 1950s. This is fascinating by itself, but the story gets so complex, that I'm not even sure if everything was true or not.
This is categorized as a children's book, but I can hardly imagine many kids would enjoy it. The story is so layered, and the illustrations are so ominous. I think some older teens might like it, but the target audience is really adults. This is an odd choice as a Caldecott, and kind of weird to me it's even considered a kids' book.
Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted
I love Peter Sis' illustrations - they're exquisite. He writes about incredibly interesting events, but something about his writing always makes me feel lost. His writing is flowery, and I wish it was more direct and simple. "Tibet" is the true story of his father, a filmmaker, who went to Tibet to make a movie and got lost there during a snowstorm for over a year in the 1950s. This is fascinating by itself, but the story gets so complex, that I'm not even sure if everything was true or not.
This is categorized as a children's book, but I can hardly imagine many kids would enjoy it. The story is so layered, and the illustrations are so ominous. I think some older teens might like it, but the target audience is really adults. This is an odd choice as a Caldecott, and kind of weird to me it's even considered a kids' book.
Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted
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