Paper son : the inspiring story of Tyrus Wong, immigrant and artist

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Title:

Author:

Leung, Julie author.

ISBN:

9781524771874

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : illustrations ; 24 x 29 cm

Abstract:

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.

Reading Level:

890L Lexile

Personal Subject:

Wong, Tyrus-Juvenile literature.

Subject Term:

Artists -- United States -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.

Chinese American artists -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.

Added Author:

Sasaki, Chris (Illustrator)

Holds:

Available:

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... MCML Central Library - Conroe	Juvenile Books, circulating	jB Wong	Searching... Unknown
Searching... MCML Mitchell Library - West Woodlands	Juvenile Books, circulating	jB Wong	Searching... Unknown
Searching... MCML Mitchell Library - West Woodlands	Juvenile Books, circulating	jB Wong	Searching... Unknown
Searching... MCML South Regional Library - The Woodlands	Juvenile Books, circulating	jB Wong	Searching... Unknown
Searching... MCML RB Tullis Library - New Caney	Juvenile Books, circulating	jB Wong	Searching... Unknown
Searching... MCML CB Stewart Library - Montgomery	Juvenile Books, circulating	jB Wong	Searching... Unknown
Searching... HCPL Maud Marks	HCPL Book	Leung	Searching... Unknown
Searching... LSC-CyFair Library	HCPL Book	Leung	Searching... Unknown
Searching... HCPL Katherine Tyra @ Bear Creek	HCPL Book	Leung	Searching... Unknown
Searching... LSC-Tomball Community Library	HCPL Book	Leung	Searching... Unknown
Searching... HCPL Fairbanks	HCPL Book	Leung	Searching... Unknown

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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.

Notes

JULIE LEUNG is the author of the Mice of the Round Table series, including A Tail of Camelot , Voyage to Avalon , and most recently, Merlin's Last Quest . This is her first picture book. In her free time, she enjoys furtively sniffing books at bookstores and winning obscure board games. Originally from Atlanta, she now lives in New York City, where she works as a marketing director at Del Rey Books. Visit her on the web at jleungbooks.com and follow her on Twitter at @jleungbooks.

CHRIS SASAKI is a former character designer and illustrator for Pixar Animation Studios, where he has designed characters for Monsters University and Inside Out . His work has been featured at Gallery Nucleus, on Cartoon Brew, in the New York Times , and in the Society of Illustrators annual. He lives in Oakland, California. Visit him on the web at csasaki.com.

Reviews (2)

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.)