One Day

(Hardback, Illustrated edition)

Publishing Details

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Physical Properties

Description

Age range 6 to 9

A gentle, delicately illustrated story about loss with both a a sweet sensory dimension, as well as a cosmic one

A boy's grandfather goes away suddenly, never to return. How could he leave just like that, without even saying goodbye His smell remains in his sweater, and his shoes wait to be worn, but he is nowhere to be found. As the boy looks and wonders, a refrain runs through his mind, Grandpa is gone. The boy lingers in the midst of his grandfather's things, to feel him and remember, but also as a way of beginning to say goodbye. There in the quiet, the boy begins to imagine his Grandfather returning to the planets and stars, the faraway home from which he must have come.

This is a beautifully made book, with a centre double gatefold that incorporates the cosmic dimension of the story into the very space of the book. It is also a wonderful story of agency and imagination, which shows a child in the very process of filling the absence that death brings through storytelling.

Reviews

A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of 2022

One of World Literature Todays 100 Notable Translations of 2021 In a tender exploration of the shock of grief and the impossibility of fathoming the enormity of a loved ones absence, this gentle picture book explores the comfort to be found in the objects left behind, the smell of his jacket, as well as in the thought of Grandpa assuming his rightful place among the stars. Kim Seung-youns illustrations offer a simple yet stylishly drawn aesthetic that imbues everything with the warmth of Grandpas felts and fabrics. From quiet rooms bereft of Grandpas presence, were transported on floating balls of yarn into a reassuring, imaginative space filled with the buttons, needles, and threads of his craft, increasingly vibrant with Grandpas passion, his energy and creativity, as he lives on amidst the pin-cushion planets and shoe-shaped shooting stars of the cosmos. Translator Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp, for World Literature Today

This deceptively spare picture book follows a childs plaintive first-person perspective as they come to terms with the loss of their grandfather. Deftly utilizing the refrain Grandpa is gone, Lee effectively conveys the disbelief and sorrow of the family, spotlighting what Grandpa has left behindhis shoes, his tailor shop, his friends at the fountainin simple prose... Kims finely detailed, subtly textured art, rendered in a muted palette, alternates between close-ups of Grandpas personal effects and shots of the dot-eyed family amid plenty of empty space, reflecting the familys grief. And scenes of Grandpa and his shop culminate in a space-themed fold-out spread in which Grandpas belongings become part of the very cosmos. With the metaphysical ending drawing a through line from Grandpas physical presence to something beyond, this sensitively told narrative will resonate long after the final page turn. Publishers Weekly

One day, / Grandpa is gone, opens this Korean import, told in a direct, forthcoming voice. With Grandpa is gone as a stark repeated refrain, the grieving grandchild chronicles the absence As readers learn about the loss, intermittent spreads reveal an imagined destination for Grandpa: his own planet, complete with the tailoring shop he had during his life. The double gatefold that closes the book reveals even more details, the child speculating that perhaps Grandpa now lives in this place full of dazzling stars. In this fantastical place, the beloved objects of Grandpas world walk on feet or fly through space; a button hangs in the sky like a planet; and a pincushion serves as a moon. The books plainspoken, authentically childlike observations are poignant in their restraint: At one point, the child, wrapped in Grandpas jacket, breathes in his scent, repeating (and seeming to finally accept) that Grandpa is gone. The striking dust jacket illustration reveals grandchild (cover) and grandparent (back cover) standing on balls of thread or yarn, doubling as planets, that connect them in the vastness of space. Tender and touching. Kirkus Reviews

A young child wonders where his beloved grandpa has gone Readers may understand that the grandfather has died, but the child decides that Grandpa has likely returned to the place he came from: a place across the universe, full of dazzling stars. He was a tailor, and in the concluding scene, with a well-positioned gatefold, Seung-youns subdued-earth tone illustrations weave together motifs from Grandpas life with those of space. The flat black of the night sky is scattered with button stars, for example; and is Grandpa standing on a ball of thread or a planet of his own With its refrain Grandpa is gone, the beautifully paced text gradually adds layers to the protagonists understanding of this enormous loss. An affecting portrait of the deep feelings and confusion of a child mourning the absence of a loved one. The Horn Book

A delicate exploration of grief. Words Without Borders

A lyrical exploration of one child's grief after his grandfather passes away. After his grandfather dies suddenly, a young boy does everything he can to cope with his feelings of sadness and confusion... Grandpa is gone, a phrase that's repeated like a mantra throughout the book, and he's never going to return. The illustrations alternate between light and dark spreads depending on the text's focus. Usually when Grandpa is visually on the page (but Grandpa is gone), the scene is the latter of the two, showing the boy's grandfather encased in darkness with Grandpa obscured in some way (he's facing away from the reader, he's too far away to see, etc.). The lighter spreads feature the boy going about his day as he copes with the loss. The final spread opens into a large, dark gatefold where the young boy and his grandfather can exist in the same space, even just for a little while. Lets Talk Picture Books

A Dewey Divas & Dudes Recommended Childrens Read A boy's grandfather goes away suddenly, never to return. This is a beautifully made book, in which the cosmic dimension of the story inhabits its very construction. Dewey Divas & Dudes

Author Bio

Lee Juckis a well-known singer songwriter in Korea, who has released over 100 songs and captivated the public with his lyrics. He shares short stories on his blog [-leejuck.com], some of which appeared in his first book,Fingerprint Hunter.

Kim Seung-younstudied visual design at HongIk University and currently runs the independent publishing company Textcontext. She likes drawing with soft, light lines and is also the author ofFox HatandYan Yan.

Asuka Minamotois a freelance translator based in Seoul, South Korea. She works in English, Japanese, and Korean. In 2016, she won second prize in the JLPP (Japanese Literature Publishing Project) International Translation Competition. Her works have appeared in theAsia Literary ReviewandKorean Literature Now.

Dianne Chunggraduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has worked as a translator and interpreter with various companies, including Samsung, LG U+, and Lotte Hotel. She lives in Seoul, South Korea.