Grandpa's Scroll

March 1, 2023
Grades 1-3 Lily and her grandfather may be miles apart, but they have a strong connection that defies geographical, linguistic, cultural, and temporal distances. Lily lives in Washington, DC, while Grandpa lives in a village in Korea. Their relationship is forged through letters in which they describe their lives to each other, which we see juxtaposed in the images that highlight their differences as connections. Both are artists, one painting on a computer, the other on a scroll. Both are writers, one crafting her thoughts in English, the other in Korean. Lily is anticipating Grandpa's visit to the U.S., but a tragic turn of events results in her traveling to Korea instead. There is a delicate sensibility to the narrative that saves it from becoming a melancholy tale about loss. A subtle color palette and vivid emotions in the expressions of the characters complement the quiet tone of this bittersweet but touching story, which captures the love between Lily and Grandpa, pen pals immortalized through art and poetry.

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May 1, 2023
A grandfather and granddaughter forge a long-distance friendship via handwritten letters in this multi-setting, multigenerational tale. Lily and Grandpa are “the best of pals” thanks to Mom, who “reads his letters to me” and “rewrites my letters to him in Korean characters.” The two correspondents anticipate the summer ahead, when Grandpa will travel from his thatched-roof hanok overlooking rice fields in Korea to visit Lily at her family’s house in Washington, D.C., carrying a special scroll that he’s been painting for her. He writes, “My wish is that we’ll finish it together.” Upon abruptly relayed news of his unexpected death, however, “instead of picking up Grandpa at the airport, we board a plane to Korea,” where sitting at Grandpa’s window helps Lily understand how to finish the scroll in his memory. In conversational first-person text, the Park sisters turn a sad event into a thoughtful opportunity to deepen connections, while Hoon’s fluid natural landscapes and images of scroll paintings bring a delicacy that balances straightforwardly rendered domestic scenes. Ages 4–8.