Customer Reviews

The Boy in the Attic

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Paul Yee and illustrator Gu Xiong work their magic together in this handsome picture book featuring a young boy left alone all day in a new country while his parents go to work. Seeing a face in his own attic window, he meets a boy his own age, who he plays with to pass the lonely hours. Whether the boy is a ghost or a figment of the lad's imagination is left to the opinion of the reader. But when the boy's parents announce that they are moving, the lad cannot persuade his friend to move with him, and so the friendship is lost. This is a ghost-fantasy tale for imaginative young readers.

The Cahners review misses the larger context of the story. As the family is leaving China, China is leaving its past. While there are customs and traditions that may not serve them as a whole, the abrupt departure is painful for many. Most people would be distraught to discover that their ancestor's previously honored grave site was being turned into a highway or parking lot.

As I read it, the butterfly that graces the child's arm at the tomb is the spirit of the ancestor, and since his/her resting place is about to be destroyed, it comes with the last people to honor it. That spirit serves the lonely child well in America, for he cannot speak the language or understand the signs. Fittingly, the only playmate he can find is the ghost of a boy who died many years before. The spirit-butterfly makes it possible for the two to communicate and share a summer friendship.

When the boy has to leave and his ghostly friend cannot come with him, the child leaves the butterfly with his friend so that he may communicate with anyone else who comes across him. I thought it was a beautiful gift, and spoke to the importance of tradition for everyone, regardless of heritage.

I would happily recommend this to all readers six and up.