Illustrated by Taeeun Yoo
Rating: Additonal
Greenwillow Books, 2008, $16.99
ISBN: 9780060750411
Age/Grade Level: grades PreK-2
High in the hills of Thailand, in a small village famous since hundreds of years for its umbrellas, a young girl watches her mother paint the traditional flowers and butterflies on big silk or paper umbrellas of many colors and soon excels at it too. However, left on her own, she begins drawing elephants, and more elephants, just because she likes them,and is very disappointed when told she must adhere to the old designs because these umbrellas are for sale at the village council shop. Undaunted, she makes her own small umbrellas from scraps, decorates them with her beloved elephants and proudly displays them on her windowsill.
This year the king himself is coming to her village to choose the Umbrella Queen, and when he inadvertently gets a glimpse of these small creations he asks Noot why she felt compelled to make them; enchanted by her candid reply he proclaims her this year's Umbrella Queen "because she paints from the heart".
This lovely tale, beautifully illustrated with pencil and linoleum prints, will delight many a budding artist and kids bent on trying their own wings.
Reviewer: B. Carswell, Orange County Public Library/West Garden Grove Branch
