On My Way to Buy Eggs [Hardcover]

Chih Y. Chen (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

This gentle book by native Taiwanese artist Chen tells the story of one young girl's morning journey. Shau-yu's simple walk through neighborhood streets to the local store slowly turns - as children's walks often do - into an adventure.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-Shau-yu's imagination soars as she sets off on a simple errand. Shadows become tightropes to walk, a marble transforms the world into a sea of azure, leaves sound like crunchy cookies, and a pair of glasses found on the street demands to be worn in the ever-widening world of possibilities that the child creates. Chen used collage, paper cutting, and charcoal to produce surprising perspectives-spaces and angles echo the youngster's flights of fancy. The artwork is primarily rendered in browns, grays, black, and white, with touches of bright color accents. This universal tribute to the power of a child's imagination will strike a familiar chord with dreamers everywhere.
Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

PreS. In this award-winning import from Taiwan, a young girl's errand to the store turns into a sensory adventure. On her way to buy eggs for her father, young Shau-yu follows a cat's shadow, views her neighborhood through a blue marble, and discovers a pair of glasses that turns her world blurry. After a make-believe game with the shopkeeper and more adventures along the way, Shau-yu returns home to her loving dad. The story is basic, but the simple words and phrases easily show Shau-yu's delight in transforming small things. The earth-tone colors in the crisp paper-and-pencil collages are as quiet as the story, but like Shau-yu's walk, the excitement is in the subtle details and creative perspectives. The beautifully drawn scenes, first washed in blue and then blurred into charcoal smudges, show Shau-yu's view as she peers through her blue marble and then through found eyeglasses. A joyful, understated story for classroom or lap sharing. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Kane Miller Book Pub (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929132492
• ISBN-13: 978-1929132492
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #763,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative adventure on an ordinary day., May 5, 2004

By 

Karen Woodworth Roman "Happy Librarian" (DeKalb, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On My Way to Buy Eggs (Hardcover)

Shau-yu asked to go out to play at the beginning of this story, but her father tells her to go buy egg first. Shau-yu manages to both play and run the errand. Chen perfectly captures the childhood experience of turning a short trip to the corner store into an adventure. Every way Shau-yu turns she finds joy and a new spark for her active imagination. As an added bonus, American readers get a little glimpse into life in a Taiwanese city. The understated illustrations are predominately in earth tones.

4.0 out of 5 stars : ), July 17, 2010

By 

Ulyyf "Connie" (NYC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: On My Way to Buy Eggs (Paperback)

Good "Free-Range" book about a little girl going to the store for her dad. On the way she stops and pretends, she looks through a marble, she plays around... and nothing bad happens at all!