Patience, Miyuki Roxanne Marie Galliez and Seng Soun Ratanavanh (illus) Princeton Architectural Press, October 2019 |
It is springtime and Miyuki's world is ablaze with blooming trees and blossoming flowers; yet, a tiny flower is asleep to this dazzling brilliance.
Miyuki, frantically moves from pillar to post in search of the beads of the purest water that can only quench the thirst of this little flower.
Her search proves futile. She is heartbroken and bemoans her ineptitude.
Her sagacious Grandfather tells her to "Come, sit close to me, watch, and wait for once."
Miyuki slows down and while she watches, her Grandfather inhales the intoxicating scent of "a blooming flower" and curls its leaves to let a "few drops" of the purest water glide gently into the blooming flower.
The tiny flower awakens in all radiance to greet Miyuki and her Grandfather.
Written by French writer Roxane Marie Galliez and illustrated by French painter Seng Soun Ratanavanh, Patience, Miyuki is a gorgeously tender story of a little girl's desperate quest for drops of the purest water to awaken a sleeping flower; evangelizing the message that children need to be sensitive to the laws of nature and cultivate patience, tolerance and kindness.
To me, it evangelizes the all encompassing morale of weaving patience, kindness and empathy in our daily fabric of existence.
The illustrations were mesmerizing and had an intensity that seemed to leap out of the pages and engulf me. I could spend hours poring over each stroke, each direction, each nuance of the artwork.
It's a brilliant book and an absolute must read for children and adults.
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