August 15, 2018
Step into a dream of a story by the team that created Wabi Sabi (2008).Reibstein and Young reunite in this sophisticated, dreamy, lyrical tribute to maternal love and loss, the eternity of memories, and the power of nature to depict human emotions. The narrator is a child named Eugene but whose mother calls him Yugen. An author's note explains Yugen means "subtle or profound" in Japanese, an apt description for the poetry and artwork in this book. Yugen's mother is from Japan and traveled there once, while Yugen stayed behind, but they remained close by glimpsing a star in the sky together. Eventually the mother leaves again, though the exact reason is not explained, and the child wishes upon the moon that she return soon. Simple, smudged charcoal lines against yellow-beige textured backgrounds portray form rather than expression--the outlines of a child's face, a mother and child in the bath, a cat against a dark night sky, and more. Spare stanzas gently recount remembrances amid this great loss. Cherry blossoms fall, as tears must do, starlight on snow, evoking the sadness of a child left behind. This unconventional picture book offers opportunities to discuss poetic form, Japanese culture and customs, artistic style, and storytelling--making this book perfect for older readers as well. Beauty is ever present in this book, amid loss and mystery. (Picture book. 6-12)
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October 1, 2018
Gr 4-6-Having collaborated on the award-winning Wabi Sabi, Reibstein and Young return here to examine a mother and son bond. "Yugen" is both a term of endearment for protagonist Eugene and a word encompassing "the subtle and profound...the sad beauty of human suffering," according to an author's note. Written from the child's perspective, the haiku describe how Yugen's mother held him when it was cold, placed blankets under the cherry tree so they could watch the petals "fall like snow," and invented imaginary jaunts to Japan as they climbed into a "deep hot bath." Each spread presents one haiku in the Japanese style-a single vertical line without periods. Characterized by sensory images and an atmosphere of fleeting joy, they are bordered on the verso by warm, textured art with the look of papyrus. This also becomes the canvas for Young's charcoal scenes on the recto. At times, the strong figural outlines evoke Mary Cassatt; others are softly blurred, without features, or they emerge from negative space. When the mother is "gone again," reunion seems more tenuous; Yugen communes with his cat while undertaking familiar rituals. Sensitive older readers will respond to his wistful yearning, feeling the pleasure and pain of memory that accompanies love and separation. VERDICT A gorgeously crafted, complex work. A strong choice for robust poetry collections.-Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library
Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
February 18, 2019
“Yugen,” as the child narrator of this haunting story is called by his mother, is a Japanese term that means “subtle and profound.” In their second collaboration, Young and Reibstein (Wabi Sabi) embody that concept through haiku and quiet images that reflect on presence and absence: “I’m Eugene—/ ‘Yugen’ to my mom,/ who held me tight/ when the wind/ blew cold.” When the child’s mother is away in Japan (where “everyone stops work/ to watch/ cherry petals fall”), she and Eugene look at the same star so that, “seeing it together,/ we’d be close,/ though far.” Young accompanies the solitary verses with shadowy charcoal depictions of mother, child, and a cat companion set against scratchy, weathered yellow backgrounds. The collaborators offer a stirring and graceful expression of love, loss, and quiet longing. Ages 5–9.
Starred review from October 1, 2018
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* Subtly rhyming haiku relate the poignant story, told from a child's viewpoint, of a mother who leaves home, returns, and leaves again. Both the poetry and illustrations reveal the love between the mother and son. When they are together, they watch blossoms drift down from the cherry trees and spend evenings admiring the moon and sharing warm baths. When she goes to Japan the first time without her son, the two agree to pick a star and think of the other, which seems to shorten the distance between them. The love connecting the two is obvious, which makes the void she leaves behind heartbreaking and the boy's confusion and sorrow palpable. In a naive fantasy, when one of his cats disappears, the boy imagines the creature has gone in search of his mother. Young's illustrations, which appear to have been created with charcoal on textured paper, are mostly blurred outlines without facial features or many details, and the text and pictures skillfully combine to portray the emotions of a small boy who is left to wonder if his absent mother will ever return. The author's note defines the Japanese word yugen as subtle and profound, which will be how readers describe their feelings about this second collaboration from Reibstein and Young, after Wabi Sabi? (2008).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2019
The author's note says, "'Yugen' is a Japanese term for the 'subtle and profound.'" It's also the nickname of Eugene, who longs for his Japanese mother whom he's now lost for the second time in his young life. In haunting first-person haiku (narrated by the boy) and mysterious charcoal sketches on textured backgrounds, the creators of this unusual book provide a unique experience for deep readers of various ages.
(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)