GRAPHIC NOVEL: The Flamingo by Guojing
REVIEW
Once again, Guojing has produced a stunningly beautiful work of art in picture book form. I've been a fan of Guojing's ever since I saw her first book, The Only Child, and even more of a fan after, Stormy. It took about two seconds to click buy when I heard about this one. And I was not disappointed in any way. When a young girl visits her Lao Lao, she sees a feather kept in a cup by the door. Between the fun trips to the beach, picnics, and cooking in the kitchen, Lao Lao tells the girl the story of finding a flamingo egg and raising the bird to adulthood before watching it fly away. The minimal use of words allows the illustrations to do the heavy lifting which they do magnificently. The more neutral hues of the grandmother and her granddaughter contrast with the bright full color of the grandmother as a girl, her dog, and the flamingo allowing the reader to clearly tell the difference between the two. When the girl returns home to the city, she finds a way to bring her grandmother's story full circle. The beauty of the illustrations jumps out at the reader along with the joy experienced between the grandmother and granddaughter in the open natural world. The contrast between the urban environment that the girl returns to and the open beauty of the flamingo in full flight connects when the girl and her grandmother connect despite the distance between them. An incredible book full of beauty and love between a girl, her grandmother, and the natural world.
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