Let's begin with the dedication on the first page of this book:
"To my immigrant parents. And to all parents who burden and narrow their own lives in the hope that their children will be free to go further."
On the fourth page these words continue to resonate with me long after my first reading of this book:
" ... my parents had come from far off lands. They had old shoes and empty pockets."
The parents have made enormous sacrifices to give their child a future in this foreign place – their promised land. The whole book is a celebration of this love and self-denial, which many children of immigrant families may recognise, and for other children this book may or dare I say should, help build empathy.
The text is understated and powerful and the illustrations are invested with enormous emotion. This story is tragic and beautiful. My Strange Shrinking Parents epitomises the perfect picture book.
Every part of this book design has been crafted with enormous care - the tall shape of the book, the tactile cover, the scrumptious end papers of teapots and the poignancy of the tiny one on the back end paper. The muted backgrounds imply hazy or slightly unreliable memories. Notice the parents on the cover - mum is looking at the reader, dad is looking at his wife, we can see their enormous son as a young boy and mum is even sitting on his shoe. This cover invites so much discussion and you might also notice the wording under the title - "a tall tale". Now flip to the back cover - your students might like to investigate the significance of the chrysanthemum flower and also notice the red cups and tea pot which are the same shade as the mother's dress.
The pages have many Asian art references (cherry blossom flowers, woodblock prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige [The Great Wave off Kanagawa]) along with willow pattern story echoes and the implied fairy tale layer where we have a reference to the Japanese folk tale about the Peach Boy. I love the way clothes are drawn using light and shade to show the fabric creases. Notice the subtitle: "My Strange Shrinking Parents - being a picture story told in 38 pages." on the title page.
The metaphor of size is repeated through the illustrations beginning with an iconic bonsai tree. Then early on we see the boy is so small because he is peering over the table top watching his dad carving cedar toys. Later we have the confronting image of the tiny parents selling fruit or perhaps orange carved objects (the price implies they are worthless and unwanted) surrounded by towering grey figures who it seems might even trample them.
Near the end there is the heart-breaking image of the father reaching out to hold his huge grandchild – an action that is now impossible. Take a minute to compare this with the first two pages of the book which shows the same scene with the boy as a baby at home with his full sized parents.
There are echoes here of Faust and his pact with the devil. I shivered when I saw the ugly baker and the name of his shop – Troll. The six vignettes marking the ‘expenses’, over the years that the boy is at school, warrant close study. Each of the providers of shirts, shoes and books holds up their hand showing the payment they require.
The landscape page with the bright moon and tiny window, where we see the family dancing, gives readers a glimpse that there have been moments of joy and happiness for this family, although perhaps these moments are hidden from the world around them. The illustration where the boy is looking out of a window and we can see the trees reflected in the glass is a masterpiece.
I wonder if the song, which book-ends the text, is a traditional Chinese lullaby?
Zeno Sworder has some questions to use as you read My Strange Shrinking parents on his web page. See inside the book at the publisher web site.
Please read this review by Betsy Bird in Fuse 8. I especially love her comments about the cover and also I am jealous that her copy must have had a dust jacket because she talks about finding the tiny teapot under the back jacket flap. Here are some quotes:
Reading Zeno Sworder’s haunting and magical metaphor for immigration ...
It is, in fact, one of the best takes on the experiences of children of immigrant parents I’ve ever seen in a picture book form. It stands, as I say, tall.
My Strange Shrinking Parents is unique. It shouldn’t have to be. We should have reams of stories that cover similar territory. But if I had to have just one (not like I have a choice, but still) I would want it to be this book. Tone, image, story, and metaphor. Each piece of this book fits snugly together with every other piece, like a well-constructed puzzle. Simple enough for children to understand. Layered enough for adult readers to appreciate. Strangely perfect.
Here are the judges comments from the CBCA. They may seem similar to my comments here because I was a judge and some of my words were incorporated into the final critique. Read some other reviews:
National Centre for Australian Children's Literature annotation Picture books for older readers
Here are a few questions - some with answers others to ponder.
- Who is the audience for My Strange Shrinking Parents?
In my view it is readers aged 10+ who will appreciate the layers of meaning in this fable. Very young children will have no idea what it means when the baker asks for 5 centimetres and then on the next page where we see the tailor, shoemaker, and bookseller holding their hands up to show how many centimetres they require from these parents. It is even worse if you think about the school Principal who wants 8 centimetres for every year of school attendance. So with this in mind I was dismayed to read booksellers have listed this book for very young children for example Booktopia and Amazon say ages 4-8; Readings in Melbourne say ages 4 to adult; and Kirkus ages 9-14.
- Who is Zeno Sworder and what motivated him to write this very personal story?
The answer in part is explained in the end notes. "I came from immigrant parents, one from the East and the other from the West. They were both remarkable people who showed me how to be in the world and weather its hardships. ... My story owes a great debt to my close circle of friends who came from all over the world ... In them I saw my own parents' sacrifices and I learned something about the strange nature of love; when given it enlarges both the giver and the receiver. In this way our parents were giants."
His bio says: Zeno Sworder is a writer and artist who lives in Melbourne, Australia. He is a husband, and father of two very creative daughters. He was awarded CBCA New Illustrator of the Year in 2021. He has worked as a window washer, journalist, English language teacher, consular officer, tribunal advocate for refugees and immigrants and a jewellery designer. But he is most at home sitting at his desk drawing pictures and making up stories.
- Read more about Zeno Sworder:
Thames and Hudson - five questions with Zeno Sworder
- One last question [without an answer] - what is the significance of the stamp-like framing of the title which is centred on the cover?
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