Stranger in the Mirror [Hardcover]

Allen Say (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1995 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

One morning eight-year-old Martin looks in the mirror and sees a stranger. Overnight, he has changed. His parents take him to one doctor after another, only to be told that there is nothing wrong with their son. At school his teacher asks, "What have we here, trick or treat?" His classmates will not play with him. At home his family tries to treat him as if he were the same child. But things now are different. Martin has grown very old in the space of one day. His world will never be the same again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A child's unrest over the departure of his grandfather sparks the Caldecott Medalist's provocative new story, which begins with Sam gripped by the thought of "how small Grandpa had looked waving good-bye." Grandpa's destination is not revealed, but it's not a pleasant one. So when the boy awakens the next day to find that he has the face of an elderly man, he worries that he, too, will be sent away, "you know, where Grandpa went." At school, Sam is teased by classmates and shunned by friends. Baffled and hurt, he is in the process of running away when a skateboard lands at his feet. He takes off on it, impressing a playground of kids with his tricky maneuvers. Tired, the man-child returns home and, talking to himself, utters words that cut to the core of the story: "Who cares what I look like? I'm Sam. Nobody can change that." Once this valuable if obvious message is delivered, Say returns Sam to his youthful self, camouflaging the transformations by implying that Sam has been dreaming. More affecting than the text's messages about outer appearances and inner truth, and clearer than the undercurrents about perceptions of the aged, are Say's hauntingly realistic paintings, which simultaneously present a convincing likeness of an old man's face on a boy's body and an equally effective sense of the confusion and betrayal Sam is experiencing within. All ages.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3?This haunting story exposes the agony caused by American attitudes toward aging and differences. Sam enters an empty house after school and instantly pictures his grandfather's final wave good-bye (presumably off to a nursing home). Sam dreads getting old. The next morning, his entrance into the kitchen causes a family commotion; when he turns to look in the mirror, his face is wrinkled, his hair gray. His mother, the epitome of calmness, marches him off to the doctor who diagnoses an unspecified skin condition and sends him to school. There, as in the kitchen and examining room scenes, the onlookers face Sam and readers?registering horror and repulsion. After a second day of taunting and teasing at school, he prepares to run away, but a skateboard rolls by and Sam hops on, losing himself in the experience. That night he comes to terms with the difference between his inner and outer selves. Upon awakening, he again sees a stranger in the mirror?this time it is Sam the boy. Was this a dream or did it really happen? Say leaves that question unanswered; there are details that could support either conclusion. But all the elements?from the abundance of gray, undecorated backgrounds to the utter pain in Sam's eyes; from the disturbing incongruity of the aged face on the small, sneakered body, to the spare, matter-of-fact telling?contribute to a book that is uncomfortable, unsettling, and oh-so-necessary. Use it to probe issues of appearance in the classroom or with individuals. It is far superior to the many books on differences that glut the politically correct market.?Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; 1ST edition (October 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395615909
• ISBN-13: 978-0395615904
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 10.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #548,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Allen Say was born in Yokohama, Japan, in 1937. He dreamed of becoming a cartoonist from the age of six, and, at age twelve, apprenticed himself to his favorite cartoonist, Noro Shinpei. For the next four years, Say learned to draw and paint under the direction of Noro, who has remained Say's mentor. Say illustrated his first children's book -- published in 1972 -- in a photo studio between shooting assignments. For years, Say continued writing and illustrating children's books on a part-time basis. But in 1987, while illustrating THE BOY OF THE THREE-YEAR NAP (Caldecott Honor Medal), he recaptured the joy he had known as a boy working in his master's studio. It was then that Say decided to make a full commitment to doing what he loves best: writing and illustrating children's books. Since then, he has written and illustrated many books, including TREE OF CRANES and GRANDFATHER'S JOURNEY, winner of the 1994 Caldecott Medal. He is a full-time writer and illustrator living in Portland, Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Startling., May 2, 2000

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Amy (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stranger in the Mirror (Paperback)

This story is startling. It does what Allen Say sets out todo, it alters you. No one writes about this stuff - age-ism -especially not in a children's book and through the powerful medium ofa hallucinatory/fantastic story sequence. It's definitely different and I almost want to say subversive. I wonder what children would think of it.