The Gift

by Carol Ann Duffy, Rob Ryan (Illustrator)

The exceptional talents of Carol Ann Duffy and papercut artist Rob Ryan combine to present the story of a girl's journey through life and the desires that shape it. With a kind of magic that is timeless, The Gift speaks to everyone who wonders about the mysteries that lie at the heart of the human experience. A unique gift book for all ages by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy This lyrical text about life, love and art is accompanied by stunning papercut illustrations. The Gift portrays the cycle of life in a subtle, accessible way while exploring themes of birth, death, love and the importance of family and friends.

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, Childrens, Art, Graphic Novels, Family, Death

38 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Dame Carol Ann Duffy, DBE, FRSL is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Britain's Poet Laureate in May 2009.

She is the first woman, the first Scot, and the first openly LGBT person to hold this position.

Her collections include Standing Female Nude (1985), winner of a Scottish Arts Council Award; Selling Manhattan (1987), which won a Somerset Maugham Award; Mean Time (1993), which won the Whitbread Poetry Award; and Rapture (2005), winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize.

Her poems address issues such as oppression, gender, and violence, in an accessible language that has made them popular in schools.

Reviews

[Amy Brydon Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this unusual picture book when I first read it and I’m still not really sure now. It tells the story of a women’s journey through life in a fable like way. I’m not sure what message the book was trying to give off however I do think it would be a lovely book to use for descriptive writing in literacy.

[Amy Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[SBC · Rating 2 out of 5]

The interesting illustration style drew me to this story, but it wasn't for me.

It's a story of a beautiful girl who lives in a small country town with her parents. One day while picnicking with her parents she finds a lovely little clearing in the woods and wishes she could be buried there. A mysterious old lady arrives and says if she gives her the daisy chain she is threading then she will make it happen.

The rest of the story describes the girl's life - growing up, becoming a painter, marrying, having children, having grandchildren, getting old. On her death bed she slips away into the clearing where she speaks to a little girl weaving a daisy chain...

I was interested in the art work (similar to linocut printing). A quick visit to the illustrator's website tells me they were lasercuts. They were very colourful and I liked the floral details, but the out-of-proportion figures weren't to my taste.

There were some pleasing elements in the story - I liked the descriptions of the sounds of the town - "church bells, children, cattle passing at the crossroads, boots on cobblestones, an accordion or fiddle through the open window of an inn, the wordless voices of dogs, cats, and, at night-time owls" - and of the flowers and herbs of the clearing - "monkshood, campion, stock, hollyhock, love-lies-bleeding, snapdragon, columbine, cornflower, wallflower, clematis, foxglove, sweet pea, flax, lupin, honesty, marigold and rose of heaven" and "dill, chervil, borage, sage, rosemary, angelica, camomile, wild garlic, hyssop, lavender, tarragon and thyme".

But ultimately I didn't like the story itself. I'm not fond of stories that take a child and turn them into an old person, and the magical realism with the young woman meeting her older self with a promise of burial only added to that mood.

[Lynne Vanderveen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read two books by Carol Ann Duffy today as I worked through a box of books donated to the nonprofit where I volunteer. I hadn't heard of her before and was not at all surprised to find that she is not just a writer of children's illustrated books but also of poetry. As a story about growing, living, and appreciating life, this is one of those picture books that is really as much for adults as it is for children.

The illustrations are amazing. Each is a hand-cut illustration created from a single sheet of paper. This book is beautiful to the eye as you see the illustrations and to the ear as you revel in the language.

[Beth Pollard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book - intrigued, interested, puzzled. At first I didn't particularly like the illustrations, and found them hard to decipher, but after finishing the book I appreciated how cleverly detailed they are, and I especially liked the Gothic and atmospheric feel of the black and white pages. One thought I had was how you would approach using this book with children - the concept of deciding where you want to be buried is quite a strange thing to consider at a young age, and could be quite upsetting.

[F · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gift is a magical tale by poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, illustrated with extraordinary papercut masterpieces by Rob Ryan. It's an astonishing combination!

It has everything - a whole-life story told through lyrical language and featuring beautiful dreamy landscapes, love, loss and (spoiler alert) time travel. I love time travel books - that's worth a star on it's own.

Loved this.

[Helen Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was instantly drawn to this book due to the paper cuts of Rob Ryan. The style evokes memories of old folk stories, with only the silhouettes guiding our imagination. I love his use of colour to draw out emotion - e.g. using black on pages discussing grief

Carol Ann Duffy's story is of a girl's journey through life, and the desires that shape it - 'wondering what her life would bring'

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and thought it allowed for a lot of thought provoking conversations. The illustrations were very good and truly representative. I also loved the story line, as it really draws upon ones life cycle.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, the artwork is what keeps it on my shelf. The cut paper silhouettes are outstanding, and i love the way illustrations are one color per page or two, but I find the story weird and unappealing.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story and the most beautiful paper cut artistry.

[Jeannette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story!

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda dad for a kids book. 2yo was not a fan

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overall, but felt a bit rough at the start of the story. Marketed for children, but the language does not seem like it was particularly written for children.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cut out illustrations are really impressive, but the story is very lackluster.

[Big Book Little Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alison for Big Book Little Book

This book looks at the whole life of a girl who one day went for a picnic, found a clearing and decides that this is where she wants to be buried. It sounds quite morbid but it really isn’t. It’s a book that celebrates life and all that happens within it. The story highlights the main event in the girl’s life, there is little to no character development, in fact we never even find out the girl’s name, but that doesn’t matter. Part of the magic of this book is that it could be about anybody. All through the book, and therefore her life, the girl returns to the clearing. She plants flowers and creates stone towers in order to really make the place her own, until she returns there last, in her dreams, on her deathbed. The ending to this book is really bittersweet. This is another that it’s quite difficult to put an age too. It is aimed at younger children, but I think it would take a certain amount of emotional maturity for them to really understand and enjoy it.

The illustrations are a delight. They are in a single colour on each page and the colour reflects the mood of the page, which almost gives it a dreamlike quality. Whilst there aren’t huge amounts of detail in specific objects and people there is so much going on within the pictures. This means the book can be read time and time again and the reader will still find new things within the pictures. This is a big plus point as the nature of the story means that it’s difficult to get really involved with it so it was good that I found that the pictures really brought it to life.

Verdict: A bittersweet story of the circle of life backed up by truly delightful pictures.

[Caren · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an unusual book this is! It has been shortlisted for the 2012 Kate Greenaway Medal (which is an award for the illustrations). While I was reading it, in the library, a patron asked if it were a folk tale, and it does have the appearance of one. The illustrations, done by Rob Ryan, are cut paper silhouette images. The author is a poet, the first woman to have been the Poet Laureate of Britain (according to the book jacket). I don't think the story is meant for very young children, which is why I also put it on my YA shelf. It really deals with the circle of life, and with death. A young girl, picnicing in the woods with her parents, encounters an old woman to whom she gives a flower chain necklace in exchange for the assurance that her wish to be buried at this beautiful spot will come true. I really can't imagine a child thinking she would like to be buried at a certain place, but I guess you never know...The rest of the book details the girl's life as she grows to womanhood, marries, raises her children, becomes a grandmother, and eventually (when old and ill) returns, in a "dream", to the site in the woods. All through her life she has made the spot more beautriful by planting flowers and herbs and leaving pretty stones. When her final "dream" takes her to her special place, she sees a young girl in the woods, a girl who puts a flower chain necklace around her neck and then skips off....

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: It's a beautiful book.

First of all the artwork in The Gift is amazing. Rob Ryan is a papercut artist and each double page spread in this oversized picture book is adorned with a detailed, intricate papercut illustration each a single colour to fit the text being illustrated. This is a book that one lingers over the pages to take in all the tiny elements found in each illustration.

This is an original fairy tale by Carol Ann Duffy that explores the circle of life, the mystery of death and the living that goes on in between. The natural points of a life well-lived are touched: career, marriage, children, death, family and friends. But there is a deeper message here that explores the cultivation of one's spirit ("soul" in my world) and the mystery or supernatural element of death that creates a wonderfully beautiful and lyric story full of life.

This is a picture book for the older child as it really gives one pause for thinking on how life and death are connected. The child must also not be afraid of death or I think the story might prove to be over their heads. Otherwise, it is a beautiful story for a family to share to and delight in the glory of life and ponder the natural grace of death.

[Kaley Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal response- This book was very interesting and slightly strange. After reading the book I was confused and not really sure what emotion the author was going for. I feel like I couldn't really relate to the story in any way but, it was a pleasant story to read. I really enjoyed the pictures and how they were all one color on each page. The book on an academic level was good, but I'm not sure on a personal level how the book would make students feel.

Purposes
Read aloud for enrichment
-this would be a good story to help students understand about death. Death is a difficult subject but, this book helps it seem that death doesn't have to be so upsetting
-vocabulary: the only difficult language is the name of the flowers. Other than the names of the flowers there isn't much rich vocabulary so this book would be for younger students. Those students would need help reading this though for the amount of words on the page.
Read aloud for academic purposes
- literary elements: there was never a clear setting but, there is a strong plot. Characters are round (you see the main characters whole life), and this book is easy to have students retell. This book could also be good for predictions or from reading time to time.
-This book could be used when talking about stages of life

[Johara Almogbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start off with this: This is not a book for younger children. Not because of the language or the content or anything, but because it's the type of story that won't keep an average 3-6 year old interested. My average 3-6 year old, anyway.

For everyone else, the book is curious and poetic and beautiful. It's a clever idea for a story that seems mundane at first glance, but as you reach the end you understand all that was going on before it. I'm not making much sense, I know. Just trust me on this one.

[Josie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The more of Carol Ann Duffy I read, the less I like her? She's just so... mediocre. I thought the story in this was very bland -- essentially it's just a girl growing up, getting old, and then dying. Her writing didn't raise it to anything more special; there was no spark. It wasn't lyrical or enchanting or anything -- just plain. But Rob Ryan's illustrations are absolutely beautiful, of course. I pored over all the detail. Gorgeous!

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations, though the printing of the book makes them look a bit digital and less delicate than cut outs should. Story is oddly written- some parts are beautiful with gorgeous word play and description, whereas other bits are just a bit boring. Will maybe read to this to class as part of out fairy tale project, main to look at word play, but won't be top of the list.

[Dreamydreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a gift, it's beauty is in the simple story coupled with the delicate and profound art work of Rob Ryan. A treasure to own. And it's one I will take joy in re-reading when it's raining outside and I want to get into someone else's mind. I LOVE this book. It's a kind of coffee table dreamers book.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gift was on display at my local library and i just could not go past that cover—its stunning!! Rob Ryan creates absolute magic with paper and each page is an intricate design thats so easy to get entangled in. The story its self is deep and somewhat unexpected, the words and art compliment each other to a tee. beautiful.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's poetic. I like its circularity. It starts with a flower chain and ends with one, and describes the life cycle, in a sense from birth to death. The concept seemed quite spiritual. The story is based on a little girl's wish to be buried on a beautiful patch of land and her wish is granted by a an old lady. In style it seems quite like a fairytale, and yet in content not.

[Belinda Carvalho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book about the circle of life. Well-complemented by greta illustrations. Kind of beautiful like a boring painting though. Formulaic, doesn't say anything new and probably boring for children..the intended audience...

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without even reading one word, I bought this book for the incredible cut paper illustrations. Every page is a joy to see. After reading it, I'm happy to report the story has fine substance too, as it follows a little girl throughout her life.

[Amy Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story. The tale, which has a hint of magic about it, tells the story of a girl to a women and her family. Although the story has talk of death in it, it is a beautiful representation. I lovedddd the illustrations, done in the form of shadow puppetry.

[Jenniferjoli jolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but depressing book about life cycle - dying.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this simple, circular tale. A child's wish growing through adulthood and into old age. The illustrations by Rob Ryan complement it perfectly.

[Denise Hartzler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting more. For some reason this book left me feeling like it could have been grand. The art work is beautiful.