THE BOY IN THE GARDEN- Alan Say

Say, Allen. 2010. THE BOY IN THE GARDEN. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN: 978-0-547-21410-8
Summary:
THE BOY IN THE GARDEN begins with a father and his son going to Mr. Ozu’s house to wish him Happy New Year. As the Jiro walks through the garden he spots a beautiful crane that reminds him of The Grateful Crane a story his mother read to him. The boy’s curiosity leads him to the garden where he sees a crane. The crane is really a statue and Mr. Ozu and father find it humorous that he thought it was real and as they laughed,Jiro runs off. The boy finds a house and goes inside where his dreams and reality are woven together. As the father and son leave father says,” You know, son, for a moment that crane looked real.” Jiro smiles and says “It’s just a statue, Papa.”

Analysis:
Say has created a story through his words and his illustrations of a young boy and the story of a crane. The story begins with a Japanese folktale, The Grateful Crane, that Jiro’s mom read to him. The folktale and the young boy’s name introduce the reader to the Japanese culture that is woven throughout the book. The father and his son are going on the third of January to wish their Mr. Ozu a happy new year. The Japanese New Year is celebrated from January 1 – 3 and Jiro is handed a red envelop he “knew there would money in it.” This is a tradition during the New Year celebration. The reader is not told who Mr. Ozu is, the father tells his son “We are in a very famous a garden … and there are many treasures in the house…” The name Ozu is known in Japan as a well known Japanese film director. The home, gardens and architecture are a part of the Japanese culture. It is through the beautiful art work of Mr. Say that the mystery of the dream may seem so real. The boy is dressed in a kimono with the “obi” he could tie by himself and he is sitting in a small cottage with the fire pit in the middle with a fish hanging above. The fish “represents the literary motif of magic power, but a cultural symbol of good luck and prosperity” (p.209). He sees a “tall woman” dressed in the traditional kimono with dark straight hair and pale skin just as the picture of the woman from The Grateful Crane story taking the reader back to the time of the folktale that begins the book. The illustrations show a modern day father and son. Say’s illustrations were sensitive to the facial features of the characters. The skin tones included white and shades of brown or tan and the eyes were expressive. The book told a quiet story with little detail of the characters, but a strong tie to a folktale that a young boy remembers his mom read to him.
Reviews/ Awards:
Booklist 09/01/10 Library Media Connection starred 05/01/11
Horn Book 05/01/11 New York Times 02/13/11
Horn Book starred 09/01/10 Publishers Weekly starred 10/11/10
Kirkus Review starred 10/01/10 School Library Journal 10/01/10

From School Library Journal
Gr 2-5–Say takes the ancient legend about a crane magically transformed into a woman through an act of kindness and adds another layer of mystery to the story. A brief retelling of “the Grateful Crane,” as told to Jiro by his mother, sets the scene. The rest of the book traces the child and his father's visit to Mr. Ozu, who has a “famous garden and many treasures in his house.” Intrigued by the life-size bronze crane, Jiro investigates first the statue and then a small seemingly empty cottage on the property. When a tall, lovely Japanese lady appears, he finds himself playing out the tale. Is she the crane personified? Is he the woodcutter from the story? With the arrival of his father to take him home, he is left to ponder: Was this just a dream? The care and subtlety the artist employs to make the contemporary twist believable, in both text and illustration, is extraordinary. A final magnificent image depicts a crane flying through the night sky beneath a full moon. Carefully chosen words mesh seamlessly with dramatic and effective paintings, bringing both energy and tranquility to carry the story to its thought-provoking ending.Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
From Booklist
Say’s book begins with a brief retelling of the Japanese folktale “The Grateful Crane,” in which a woodcutter frees a crane and later marries a mysterious woman. The woman weaves fabric that enriches the couple until her husband sees her at work, at which time she reverts to being a bird. In Say’s quixotic story, a boy and his father visit a rich man, Mr. Ozu. Young Jiro wanders the grounds and finds a statue of a crane. Remembering the tale, he thinks it’s real. His father and Mr. Ozu laugh, and the boy is humiliated. Then a mysterious cottage beckons, a beautiful woman appears, and so begins the boy’s own reenactment of “The Grateful Crane.” Although the mood is evocative in the manner of fairy tales, there’s a question here of audience. Jiro looks to be about six, yet the issues the book raises—about the illusion of story and the nature of reality—would probably be best contemplated by an older child. Still, Say’s artwork, with its clean, quiet scenes, always pleases, and the more perceptive child will take much away from this. Grades K-2. --Ilene Cooper

"A gently unsettling tale of the power of the imagination."—The Horn Book,starred review
"Say is at the height of his artistic achievement in this tale of a little boy named Jiro and the powerful impact that a story has on him....This is a beautiful, moving, quietly mysterious read, ripe with possibilities for interpretation and contemplation."—Kirkus Reviews,starred review

"Caldecott Medalist Say (Grandfather's Journey), his work always painstaking and poignant, ventures tentatively into the realm of fantasy....Pale colors and expanses of empty space contribute to the feeling of haunted charm. Did Jiro dream? Possibly—or possibly not."—Publishers Weekly,starred review
Connections:
I would use this book with second or third grade children.
Fairytales and Folktales are always a fun and educational way to connect cultures.
The Grateful Crane (Kodansha Nihongo Folktales) by Hiroko C. Quackenbush, Yasuji Mori and Kazue Ito
The Adventure of Momotaro, the Peach Boy (Kodansha's Children's Classics) by Ralph F. McCarthy and Ioe Saito (Sep 15, 2000)
Peach Boy and Other Japanese Children's Favorite Stories by Florence Sakade and Yoshisuke Kurosaki (Sep 15, 2008)
Momotaro: the Peach Boy (Storycard Theater) by David Battino, Hazuki Kataoka and Mario Uribe (Dec 30, 2003)
Little One-Inch and Other Japanese Children's Favorite Stories]
Florence Sakade & Yoshisuke Kurosaki