PIECE BY PIECE

“A multilayered, emotional tale.” - Kirkus Reviews

Peabody Essex Museum
Distributed by Six Foot Press
978-0-87577-239-4
Pub date: 11/15/2019
$19.95
Hardcover with dust jacket

40 pages
Fully illustrated throughout
11 x 9.5” (HxW)

In the first children’s picture book from the prestigious Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, Emmy, a young Chinese-American girl, learns about her family’s roots and heritage in the Museum’s iconic Yin Yu Tang House.

SUMMARY

Emmy loses her beloved blanket, made especially for her by her Nainai, on a trip to the Peabody Essex Museum. Looking high and low, she winds up on a magical journey of discovery and wonder. Exploring the museum’s Chinese house, Yin Yu Tang, she finds a place reminiscent of her grandmother and their special bond. But will she find her blanket before it’s too late? Remembering Nainai’s wisdom, she has not only good luck but the love of her family, too.

With stirring words by author Susan Tan and luminous scenes by debut illustrator Justine Wong, this heartwarming picture book will be enjoyed by kids and collectors alike.

CONTRIBUTOR BIOS

Susan Tan grew up visiting museums with her grandmother, an art historian, who encouraged her love for art and story. She is the author of Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire, Cilla Lee-Jenkins: This Book Is a Classic, and Cilla Lee-Jenkins: The Epic Story. Susan lives in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Visit her online at susantanbooks.com.

Justine Wong is an illustrator and multimedia artist living in Toronto with her two cats, Kumo and Opal. She loves to travel in search of new forms, landscapes, and feelings to draw. Justine’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Monocle, and Lucky Peach. Learn more about Justine’s work at patternsandportraits.com.

The Peabody Essex Museum, founded in 1799 by America’s first global entrepreneurs, is a museum of international art and culture, and holds one of the nation’s major Asian collections. The museum’s mission is to celebrate outstanding artistic and cultural creativity by collecting, stewarding, and interpreting objects of art and culture in ways that increase knowledge, enrich the spirit, engage the mind, and stimulate the senses. Visit PEM in Salem, Massachusetts, and at pem.org.

REVIEWS

“Missing her grandmother, a young Chinese American girl finds comfort in a museum. For Emmy, "museums have always been a special place for Nainai and me," and all summer they explored them together during Nainai's visit. Already missing their trips and meals of dumplings, Nainai gives Emmy a blue blanket made up of mementos before returning to China. The differing textiles and patterns are beautifully rendered in layered, uneven strokes of color. In an attempt to cheer Emmy up, her dad takes her to a museum with a special exhibit: a traditional house brought over from China. The plan seems doomed from the start when Emmy loses her beloved blanket. Yet elongated descriptions narrate how Emmy finds bits of blue and comfort in each room. Bit by bit, Emmy comes to terms with her longing for Nainai and realizes commonalities with her dad, himself an immigrant. A happy reunion with the blanket marks the end of her emotional journey. Wong provides a warm, textured palette with thick black lines to describe both simply drawn figures and elaborate ornamentation. At times the expression of the illustrations seems inhibited by the elaborate details that can dominate the pages. This tale is based on the Yin Yu Tang house, which traveled from China's Huizhou region to the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts; further information about it is found in a concluding note. A multilayered, emotional tale that is occasionally overtaken by its rich visual detail.” - Kirkus Reviews

“When Emmy's nainai came to the United States one summer, the two loved to visit museums where they would create art-inspired dances and movement. Now that the child's grandmother has returned to China, Emmy hates visiting museums, even while clinging to Nainai's homemade blue patchwork blanket. During a visit to Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, Emmy rediscovers her lost love of museums while searching for her beloved, and mysteriously missing, blanket throughout Yin Yu Tang, a Qing dynasty house moved to the museum from Southeastern China. As Emmy follows tantalizing bits of blue, the house's former residents seem to come to life, with memories like the ones in Nainai's stories. Emmy gathers comfort from small things; a padded blue jacket, like the one Nainai wears, and the dragons in the carved wooden screens, as if they've jumped out of her grandmother's empowering, adventurous stories. Ultimately, father and daughter reconnect and accept Nainai's absence while at the same time celebrating their cultural heritage and love for Nainai. The insistent pace enlivens the lush, thoughtful tone of the sensory-rich first person narrative. Precise hand-drawn lettering complements the hand-painted illustrations created with mixed media, utilizing textures and colors evocative of the house itself. Thick black lines and watercolor washes bring to mind the soft-focus of memory. The illustrations are particularly strong when visual details tie Nainai's youth in China with moments in Emmy's modern life. Back matter provides historical and cultural context, further supported by photographs and other visuals. VERDICT Published by the museum, this well-researched and engaging intergenerational picture book will encourage cultural, architectural, and archaeological curiosity.” - School Library Journal

“Emmy and her grandma, Nainai, used to visit a new museum every week, appreciating art, sharing dumplings, and poring over Nainai's photographs of her childhood in China. Before returning home, Nainai crafted a special blue blanket for Emmy, which Emmy now carries everywhere. In an effort to cheer her up following Nainai's departure, Emmy's father takes her to a museum, where the blanket goes missing. Things take a turn for the magical as the pair explore a traditional Yin Yu Tang house in the museum. Lured by flashes of blue that she thinks are her blanket, Emmy darts from room to room, immersed in decor and design, surrounded by history and culture, and in awe that such a structure could have been transported from China to the museum piece by piece. Wong gives the traditional Yin Yu Tang styles a fresh, contemporary feel through watercolor and ink renderings. Emmy's blanket provides a Knuffle Bunny-like element for younger readers, while older ones will grasp the deeper message about connection and family.” - Booklist