Shibumi and the Kitemaker (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After a decade-long absence, Mayer returns to picture books, using computer-generated graphics to illustrate an original tale set in long-ago Japan. When the emperor's daughter, Shibumi, discovers the poverty-stricken world beyond her garden walls, she longs to resolve the inequity. Tying herself to an enormous kite fashioned for her by the royal kite-maker, she takes flight, telling her father that she will not come down until the city below "is as beautiful as the palace, or the palace is as squalid as the city." Wealthy noblemen who wish to preserve the status quo mount an attack, and the kite carries off both Shibumi and the kite-maker. The bereaved emperor spends his years trying to make amends, and in the end a young samurai sets out to find the princess and restore her to her father and the transformed city. Mayer grounds his message in familiar fairy tale elements, and proceeds at a leisurely pace. His computer art approaches the brooding style of his paintings in East of the Sun & West of the Moon (as opposed to his Little Critter books, for example). Compositions using traditional Japanese images, from cherry blossoms and cranes to paper lanterns, lavish kimonos and bonsai trees, are set off against a series of slightly surreal backdrops. Some will associate this art with the souped-up visuals of CD-ROM action games; others will find the mix of elements haunting. All ages. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3 In a faraway kingdom, Princess Shibumi, the emperor's only daughter, grows up in a walled garden, innocent of the evils of the world. One day, she climbs the high wall and sees squalor and poverty in the city below. Shocked and saddened, Shibumi devises a plan to fight the injustice she knows her father has condoned. She persuades the royal kitemaker to construct a kite large enough to carry her into the sky, where she vows to stay until her father makes the city as beautiful as the palace. Years later, a young samurai embarks on a quest to find the lost princess, bringing the tale to its bittersweet conclusion. The book's artistic style and design resemble Jay Williams's original fantasy set in China, Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like (Macmillan, 1984), illustrated by Mayer. Like that book, the overall artistic sensibility is far more Western than Asian. The art, created by various computer programs, influenced by comic books and the visual look of samurai films, contains both accurate and inaccurate images. The artistic style is massive and full of details, both relevant and irrelevant, where Japanese art is delicate and suggestive. On some pages, the features of the main characters, particularly the old kitemaker, are modeled by line and soft shading, in contrast to the flat background, a style that becomes melodramatic, almost grotesque. While the colors are dark, verging on muddy, and the composition is overly complicated, the story line is good. Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Corporation (April 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761451455
• ISBN-13: 978-0761451457
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,387,209 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, rich tale, November 11, 1999

By	"veljennen" (St. Clair Shores, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shibumi and the Kitemaker: Story and Pictures (Hardcover)

A gorgeous book with glorious illustration. If this is based on a traditional story, it's not one that I've heard before. It kept me entirely engrossed while I read it. There is more than fairy-tale depth here, particularly as obstacles to the traditional happy ending keep showing themselves. Very satisfying.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I haven't seen a children's book this lovely in a while, April 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Shibumi and the Kitemaker: Story and Pictures (Hardcover)

While I loved this Japanese fairy tale, what struck me most about this book is the beautiful illustrations. The author is known for his Little Critter series, but this book is so elegant and classic, you would never guess they are written by the same person. Though this is a picture book, the story is longer than most picture books. Thus, it is appropriate even for older children. I also think this book is a great way to introduce children to other cultures. Check it out- you'll love it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another beautiful book by Mayer, August 10, 2001

By	Matthew Taylor (Rockville, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shibumi and the Kitemaker: Story and Pictures (Hardcover)

I highly recommend this book to any fan of Mercer Mayer's work or to a fan of Japanese culture. Although Mayer admits in the note in the book that this story is not based on any known Japanese folklore, it reads just like a folktale should and has enough of a Japanese flavor to make it acceptable to at least Western readers. (I wonder what a Japanese reader would think.) However, the real star of the book is the illustrating. Mayer is excellent at capturing moments from the story in a single illustration, incorporating many elements into a composite that is itself a story. I would recommend his rendition of "Beauty and the Beast" as a further example of this. The style is rich with color and texture, and each illustration has balance and dynamic symmetry. He pays as much attention to the background and the borders as he does the foreground and the main action. You can delight in a small detail like the pattern of the emperor's kimono, or how each of the many kites flying at the end of the book is different.

Mayer also dared to do all the illustrations for this book on a computer, using Adobe Illustrator and a variety of other software. I am impressed with the result, although a few minor things bug me about some of the illustrations. For instance, in a few spots, objects in the distance appear to be sharper, more in focus, then objects in the foreground. It seems to me that this should have been addressed before publishing the book as it goes against our normal way of seeing. But that aside, I commend Mayer for trying his illustration skills in a new medium, and admit that Mayer on a bad day is still wonderful to look at.

The minor glitches with the illustrations, and the fact that the story could have been a bit more poetic, keep this book from getting five stars. Still, it is worth buying. It is a beautiful book.