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Product Description
Book Description
Two diverse countries and cultures are linked with warmth and charm in this two-in-one picture book.
Product Description
This innovative picture book comprises two stories designed to be read simultaneously – one from the left, the other from the right. Page by page, we experience the lives of two little boys – one from an urban family in Sydney, Australia, the other from Morocco. From busy motorways to desert landscapes, these worlds couldn't be further apart. Yet with the journey of a homemade Moroccan carpet into the Australian boy's home, we can see how these separate lives become intertwined. At the book's conclusion, the family in Sydney can be seen enjoying their new purchase together while the Moroccan family are surfing the internet. A powerful book, Mirror illustrates how our lives reflect each other and that we are all, even in some small way, connected.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Winner of the Key Stage 1 Non-Fiction Category in the English Association's 2011 English 4-11 Best Children's Illustrated Books
Visual storytelling at its best. It is a two in one picturebook, with minimal written text in English and Arabic, about the lives and experiences of two little boys. One of them is from Sydney in Australia and the other from the Valley of Roses in Southern Morocco. So, in one case, we are shown urban landscapes of motorways, car parks and superstores and, in the other, we see deserts, working animals and markets. Each boy is growing up in a distinctive cultural context, but some things connect them. These things include the human need to be loved by family and friends and part of a community. Explaining her powerful metaphor Jeannie Baker comments: `Inwardly we are so alike, it could be each other we see when we look in a mirror'. The beautiful hand woven Moroccan carpet the Australian family receives symbolises these connections. Such a nice touch to have the Australian family sitting on the carpet and looking at their little boy's picture of a magic carpet in flight! In our modern world the Internet links us with different parts of the world, and we are shown the Moroccan family round the computer. The philosophy of connection between human beings wherever they live which underpins the book is shown in arresting artwork and makes it of interest to discerning readers of any age group. Jeannie Baker's distinctive collages, used in her other books too, are made by combining both natural and artificial materials - for example sand, earth, plastic and metal- on a wooden board. The photographs of these collages become the book's illustrations. Children in the key stage 1 years will learn something about human geography and each double spread, rich in detail, will give rise to much talk and perhaps children's own drawing and writing.
Visual storytelling at its best. It is a two in one picturebook, with minimal written text in English and Arabic, about the lives and experiences of two little boys. One of them is from Sydney in Australia and the other from the Valley of Roses in Southern Morocco. So, in one case, we are shown urban landscapes of motorways, car parks and superstores and, in the other, we see deserts, working animals and markets. Each boy is growing up in a distinctive cultural context, but some things connect them. These things include the human need to be loved by family and friends and part of a community. Explaining her powerful metaphor Jeannie Baker comments: `Inwardly we are so alike, it could be each other we see when we look in a mirror'. The beautiful hand woven Moroccan carpet the Australian family receives symbolises these connections. Such a nice touch to have the Australian family sitting on the carpet and looking at their little boy's picture of a magic carpet in flight! In our modern world the Internet links us with different parts of the world, and we are shown the Moroccan family round the computer. The philosophy of connection between human beings wherever they live which underpins the book is shown in arresting artwork and makes it of interest to discerning readers of any age group. Jeannie Baker's distinctive collages, used in her other books too, are made by combining both natural and artificial materials - for example sand, earth, plastic and metal- on a wooden board. The photographs of these collages become the book's illustrations. Children in the key stage 1 years will learn something about human geography and each double spread, rich in detail, will give rise to much talk and perhaps children's own drawing and writing.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Billingual book about two cultures and two ways of life, illustrated in a fresh and ingeniouse style. Great piece of work from Australian illustrator, three dimensional images made of pieces of real material stuck on a wooden board. Great, not only for collectors.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
9 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Awesome idea and illustrations
6 Jan 2011
Format:Hardcover
I've become something of a wordless book junkie. I bring tons of them home for the kids and, as with other books, some hit the mark and some miss it. This one hit, but just barely.
Here's what we liked about it: The way the two stories, a life in Australia and a life in Morocco are presented, side-by-side with a similar story line, was ingenious. I love that the Moroccan story works right-to-left, just as it would were it written in Arabic, and the Australian story works left-to-right as in English. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story told through the pictures is an interesting one, to be sure.
Now my reservations: For my child, who is 4, the story line was a bit difficult to follow. It could have been the difficulty of following 2 story lines at once (he was similarly confused by Black and White, which has 4 concurrent story lines), or just the foreigness of the Moroccan story, or maybe the real issue was me and my desire for him to see the story as the author intended. At any rate, I found myself telling him the story to a greater extent than I normally do with wordless picture books. And maybe it is for that reason that he seemed far less interested in this book than he has been in his favorite wordless picture books. If you are using the book as a tool to help develop a child's storytelling skills, this may not be the best one out there. But as a way to learn a bit about the similarities and differences between two very different cultures, it is terrific!
ETA: A quick update - I've since read this book with older brother, who is almost 7. He was just the perfect age for it! He was able to follow the two stories simultaneously, and compare the pictures on each side of the page. He was able to catch important details, like a carpet in the Australian house that appears to be like the one the Morroccan mother weaves. He was able to make the connection between the pictures of the Morroccan family drawing water from their well, milking their cow and gathering eggs and the subsequent pictures of the family eating those things for breakfast. He absolutely loved the book.
Here's what we liked about it: The way the two stories, a life in Australia and a life in Morocco are presented, side-by-side with a similar story line, was ingenious. I love that the Moroccan story works right-to-left, just as it would were it written in Arabic, and the Australian story works left-to-right as in English. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story told through the pictures is an interesting one, to be sure.
Now my reservations: For my child, who is 4, the story line was a bit difficult to follow. It could have been the difficulty of following 2 story lines at once (he was similarly confused by Black and White, which has 4 concurrent story lines), or just the foreigness of the Moroccan story, or maybe the real issue was me and my desire for him to see the story as the author intended. At any rate, I found myself telling him the story to a greater extent than I normally do with wordless picture books. And maybe it is for that reason that he seemed far less interested in this book than he has been in his favorite wordless picture books. If you are using the book as a tool to help develop a child's storytelling skills, this may not be the best one out there. But as a way to learn a bit about the similarities and differences between two very different cultures, it is terrific!
ETA: A quick update - I've since read this book with older brother, who is almost 7. He was just the perfect age for it! He was able to follow the two stories simultaneously, and compare the pictures on each side of the page. He was able to catch important details, like a carpet in the Australian house that appears to be like the one the Morroccan mother weaves. He was able to make the connection between the pictures of the Morroccan family drawing water from their well, milking their cow and gathering eggs and the subsequent pictures of the family eating those things for breakfast. He absolutely loved the book.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children
9 Nov 2010
Format:Hardcover
An urban household in Australia wakes up to a new day and gets ready for the usual activities of work and play. A different rural household in Morocco, a country in northern Africa, also engages in their daily rituals to get ready for the new day. The activities of both families involve traveling to work, buying and selling items in the marketplace, and relaxing together at night. But the settings in which these activities occur differ markedly, with a car-ride through congested highways to reach the hardware superstore in Australia, and a donkey-ride through the barren landscape to reach the distant outdoor market in Morocco.
Mirror uses contrasting side-by-side visual images to highlight differences in economic development and social norms in an Australian city and a remote Moroccan village. Making the book unique is the use of Arabic as well as English to communicate the narrative, as well as a stunning display of collages made with materials such as sand, clay, fabric, and tin. This sophisticated art work stands on its own to communicate an important lesson about differences and commonalities across countries.
Mirror uses contrasting side-by-side visual images to highlight differences in economic development and social norms in an Australian city and a remote Moroccan village. Making the book unique is the use of Arabic as well as English to communicate the narrative, as well as a stunning display of collages made with materials such as sand, clay, fabric, and tin. This sophisticated art work stands on its own to communicate an important lesson about differences and commonalities across countries.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Magic Carpet Ride
12 Jan 2011
Format:Hardcover
In Mirror, Australian author, Jeannie Baker, tells two wordless stories simultaneously, one in Australia and one in Morocco, in a double fold-out format. Like a mirror through time, the Moroccan boy's mother weaves a rug, while the Australian family takes it home from the "Magic Carpet Store." With beautiful collage artwork, the author-illustrator explores the difference between stranger and friend. This is a thought-provoking picture book for older children, ages 6-9, encouraging them to explore similarities and differences found around the world.
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