I Dream of Popo

by Livia Blackburne (Author) Julia Kuo (Illustrator)

I Dream of Popo
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

From New York Times bestselling author Livia Blackburne and illustrator Julia Kuo, here is I Dream of Popo. This delicate, emotionally rich picture book celebrates a special connection that crosses time zones and oceans as Popo and her granddaughter hold each other in their hearts forever.

I dream with Popo as she rocks me in her arms.

I wave at Popo before I board my flight.

I talk to Popo from across the sea.

I tell Popo about my adventures.

When a young girl and her family emigrate from Taiwan to America, she leaves behind her beloved popo, her grandmother. She misses her popo every day, but even if their visits are fleeting, their love is ever true and strong.

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Hardcover
$18.99

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Steeped in personal history, this picture book from a Taiwanese American author-illustrator-editor team tenderly portrays the time zone-transcending love between a girl and her grandmother. Spotlighted variations on the titular phrase launch descriptions of the experiences the first-person protagonist shares with Popo: "I bow to Popo on New Year's Day," one page begins, sensorially relaying Lunar New Year traditions and foods that the family enjoys. Though the child subsequently moves from Taiwan to the U.S. ("I wave at Popo"), meets new friends ("I think of Popo"), and learns English ("I talk to Popo"), her relationship with Popo remains robust, even as her ties with her first language weaken. Digital illustrations evoking vintage advertisements have an effectively nostalgic quality, enhanced by abstract-colored skies, a subtle rice paper-like texture, and a subdued mid-century modern palette, while contemporary touches, including spreads of the girl and Popo video chatting, ground the story in the present day. A richly nuanced narrative that illuminates the interstices of one family's diasporic experience. Back matter includes author's and illustrator's notes, as well as a Mandarin-English glossary with pronunciations in pinyin. Ages 3-6. (Jan.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"Readers will connect with this visual story on various levels or learn something new; possibly both. #Ownvoices tributes to childhood memories of home: It is as much an emotional space as a physical place." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A richly nuanced narrative that illuminates the interstices of one family's diasporic experience." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A tender, emotionally resonant tale of a girl who must say goodbye to Popo, her beloved grandmother, when her family emigrates from Taiwan to the United States." —The Buffalo News

"A beautiful story to share between parents or grandparents and the children they love." —The Daily Press

"A lyrical and heartfelt tribute to the power of love across geography and generations." —Bookpage

Livia Blackburne

Livia Blackburne is the New York Times bestselling author of the Midnight Thief and Rosemarked duologies. Livia was born in Taipei, Taiwan and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, when she was five. After a twelve-year stint at Harvard and MIT, where she earned an AB in biochemical sciences and a PhD in cognitive neuroscience, she moved to Los Angeles, where she now lives with her husband and daughter.

Julia Kuo is a Taiwanese-American illustrator who has worked with The New York Times, Google, and Science Friday. Julia has taught illustration courses at Columbia College Chicago and at her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis. She is the illustrator of Drawing Leaves and Tress: Observing and Sketching the Natural World, Katrina Goldsaito's The Sound of Silence, Roni Schotter's Go, Little Green Truck!, Melissa Gilbert's Daisy and Josephine, 20 Ways to Draw a Dress, 20 Ways to Draw a Cat, and Everyone Eats.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781250249319
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Roaring Brook Press
Publication date
January 05, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
JUV011020 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Asian American
Library of Congress categories
Grandmothers
Picture books
Grandparent and child
Love
ALSC Notable Children's Book
Selection 2022

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