Availability:
Library | Call Number | Format | Status | Item Holds |
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Searching... Braintree Thayer Public Library | WONG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Brockton Public Library | WONG T | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Cohasset Paul Pratt Memorial Library | WONG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Hull Public Library | 92 WONG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Milton Public Library | JB WONG, T. LEU | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Quincy Thomas Crane Library | B W7455L | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Randolph Turner Free Library | BIO WONG [EASY JNF] | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Scituate Town Library | WONG LEU | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Sharon Public Library | PIC BIO WONG, T. | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Stoughton Public Library | JB WONG LEU | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Walpole Public Library | J 920 WONG | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Winner of the American Library Association's 2021 Asian/Pacific American Award for Best Picture Book!
An inspiring picture-book biography of animator Tyrus Wong, the Chinese American immigrant responsible for bringing Disney's Bambi to life.
Before he became an artist named Tyrus Wong, he was a boy named Wong Geng Yeo. He traveled across a vast ocean from China to America with only a suitcase and a few papers. Not papers for drawing--which he loved to do--but immigration papers to start a new life. Once in America, Tyrus seized every opportunity to make art, eventually enrolling at an art institute in Los Angeles. Working as a janitor at night, his mop twirled like a paintbrush in his hands. Eventually, he was given the opportunity of a lifetime--and using sparse brushstrokes and soft watercolors, Tyrus created the iconic backgrounds of Bambi .
Julie Leung and Chris Sasaki perfectly capture the beautiful life and work of a painter who came to this country with dreams and talent--and who changed the world of animation forever.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3--From humble origins as a nine-year-old Chinese immigrant with false papers, Tyrus Wong challenged adversity to become a professional artist. Celebrated as the man behind the design for Disney's Bambi, Wong worked for other film studios as well. Leung's smooth exposition emphasizes the difficulties facing young Wong Geng Yeo, who traveled in 1921 under the identity of Look Tai Yow, a merchant's son, in order to evade the restrictions of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Days of practice on the long voyage allowed him to pass his immigration interview and be released to join his father, but only after an extended detention on Angel Island. Wong finished high school and art school, but continued to face discrimination as a Disney employee. Sasaki's digital illustrations portray him as the single non-white man among a group of Disney animators drawing the repetitive "in between" frames of movies. The art often reflects the style of Chinese watercolor and ink paintings. One notable spread shows the artist working as a janitor, swirling his mop trails to paint a running horse on a tile floor. Other images are stylized but recognizable and appropriate to the mood and the period. The helpful back matter includes author and illustrator notes and photos from the Wong family albums, including his immigration card. The endpapers feature the kites Wong designed and flew on the beach near his California home. VERDICT A well-told story that spotlights the too-often unrecognized talent and contributions of America's immigrants.--Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD
Publisher's Weekly Review
In 1919, a boy and his father emigrate from China to the United States. There, the child is separated from his parent and "taken to a wooden house filled with strangers... Days turned to weeks. This new land was not what he had expected." After he struggles to clear immigration with an assumed identity, the boy, eventually known as Tyrus Wong, makes his way as an artist, working his way through art school as a janitor before landing a job at Walt Disney Studios. His lush illustrations, influenced by the evocative spareness of Chinese art and calligraphy, became the signature look of Bambi, though Wong is credited "only as a background artist" for his contributions to the film. Sasaki's appealing illustrations, which blend midcentury stylization with classical Chinese art, complement Leung's sensitive and skillful telling of Wong's chillingly timely story. An endnote offers additional details about Wong's life and career. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)
Booklist Review
When he was nine years old, Tyrus Wong became a Paper Son, using a false name and pretending to be another boy in order to immigrate with his father to the U.S., or Gold Mountain. After months alone on Angel Island being questioned by immigration authorities, Wong was finally reunited with his dad, taking up a tough life as the new kid in a place where he didn't know the language. He went on to art school while working nights as a janitor and eventually became the art director of Disney's Bambi, though he never received the credit he deserved. Leung's reverent, poetic prose captures the subject's lifelong love of art and his perseverance through adversity. Sasaki's lush renderings are reminiscent of the animator's iconic style, heavily influenced by his Chinese heritage. Young readers and aspiring artists will pore over the stunning digital art, which presents an ink-and-watercolor style. The entire collaboration highlights the many contributions immigrants have made to our country and its culture, making this a lovely work for all shelves, displays centering artists, units on immigration, or showcases during Asian American History Month. Notes from author and artist, in addition to photos of Wong and his family, add further context and value to this gorgeous picture-book biography about an unsung hero of animation and Chinese American history.--Shelley M. Diaz Copyright 2010 Booklist