Jun Nie

Young Yu'er lives with her grandfather in a small neighborhood of Beijing. This graphic novel presents four vignettes of their life together. The events that happen have a touch of magical realism to them, but it's hard to describe exactly so without giving away the lovely endings this gives to the stories. They do, however, live up to the subtitle of "stories of everyday wonder." The first three were incredibly sweet stories; the last one didn't hit quite the same note although it did try. show more Oddly, I'm pretty sure Doubao shows up in this story again even though at the end of the second story, it is specifically stated that Yu'er never sees him again. So that seemed like a slight misstep.

I really enjoyed the sweet grandparent-grandchild relationship portrayed here. It appears that Yu'er's guardian is her grandfather, although it is not specifically mentioned and only her grandmother's passing is acknowledged; no information is given about the status of her parents. Yu'er uses a crutch to get around on her own or is transported in a large basket on her grandfather's bicycle; there are no details about what she may be dealing with physically, but it is strongly implied that this is a permanent malady, not a temporary one. (For instance, in the first story she mentions wanting to be a participant in the Special Olympics.) It is really nice to see both of these scenarios presented, as many children do live with their grandparent(s) as their primary caregiver and many children do have health conditions that result in accommodation need(s), but unfortunately these are not usually seen much in children's literature, and even less so as just a matter of fact (rather than as a 'problem' novel or a didactic informational text).

The illustrations appear to be watercolors and have just a touch of an impressionistic feel to them. They are very in keeping with the general whimsy of the book. show less

This is a pretty and soothing read. I loved the art, and the stories are sweetly odd. It's one that I would happily read over and over, just looking for more details and enjoying the gentle stories.

I was a little thrown by the fantasy/magical element in the first story as a goofy grandfather helps his granddaughter train for the Special Olympics. I thought this was just a collection of slice-of-life short stories set in China, but the mix of the everyday and the fantastic weaves throughout as we follow the two through a variety of gentle adventures in their timeless little neighborhood.

Pretty mild overall, but still enjoyable and quite sweet.

Cute. The stories of a girl and her grandfather blend nostalgia for old Beijing with some magical realism. Heartwarming seems a more apt description than wonder. The four stories are sweet without being sappy and I liked it enough that I might send the book to my daughter.