Synopses & Reviews
New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Collins has created a deeply moving autobiographical picture book about a father who must go off to the war in Vietnam — and the daughter who stays behind.
When young Suzy's father leaves for Vietnam, she struggles to understand what this means for her and her family. What is the jungle like? Will her father be safe? When will he return? The months slip by, marked by the passing of the familiar holidays and the postcards that her father sends. With each one, he feels more and more distant, until Suzy isn't sure she'd even recognize her father anymore.
This heartfelt and accessible picture book by Suzanne Collins, the New York Times bestselling author of the Hunger Games series, is accompanied by James Proimos's sweet and funny illustrations. This picture book will speak to any child who has had to spend time away from a parent.
Review
Praise for Suzanne Collins's work:
"Collins writes with raw power." -- TIME Magazine
Praise for James Proimos's work:
Imaginative and humorous
”-- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Proimos's light cartoon art and plotline carry some weighty themes." -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Review
"Collins mines her own experience to tell a tender, personal story of war seen through a child’s eyes. Firstgrader Suzy’s father is deployed to Viet Nam. At first, though she misses him, she dreams of the exotic jungle. But as the year goes on, marked by Christmas trees and candy hearts, things get harder. His postcards arrive less and less frequently, while news of the war, and its real dangers, comes more and more often. In the end Suzy’s father returns, and while some things are different, some things are the same. Collins’ unflinching first-person account details the fears and disappointments of the situation as a child would experience them. And where more realistic illustrations would feel overwrought and sentimental, Proimos’s flat, cartoony drawings, with their heavy lines and blocky shapes, are sturdy and sweet, reflecting a child’s clear-eyed innocence. While small, personal details and specific references to Viet Nam fix the story in one child’s individual experience, it is these very particularities that establish the kind of indelible and heartfelt resonance to be universally understood. Indeed, children missing parents in all kinds of circumstances will find comfort here." - Booklist starred review
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About the Author
Suzanne Collins is the author of the groundbreaking Hunger Games trilogy for young adults:
The Hunger Games,
Catching Fire, and
Mockingjay. She is also the author of an upcoming picture book,
Year of the Jungle, and the
New York Times bestselling Underland Chronicles series for middle grade readers, which started with
Gregor the Overlander. Suzanne lives with her family in Connecticut. You can find her online at suzannecollinsbooks.com.
James Proimos is the creator of Swim! Swim!, Knuckle and Potty Destroy Happy World, 12 Things to do Before You Crash and Burn, and many more books for children of all ages. He lives on a farm outside of Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife and their horses, cats, and dogs. Learn more at jamesproimos.blogspot.com.