- Overview
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The harmonization of writings and paintings depict the pain of a family made up of a grandmother and a granddaughter.
- Book Intro
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This picturebook depicts Yeon with a secret box containing a pair of rubber shoes, the kind that were traditionally used by grandmothers in Korea. Since her mother left her at an early
age, Yeon longs for her grandmother to live with her the rest of her life. Overcoming the trauma of her mother leaving, readers understand this grief because of how much she wishes for her grandma to never leave her and to keep on loving her.
Furthermore, the illustrations exemplify this story through the images of Yeon together with her grandma, with Yeon holding on to grandma’s new rubber shoes.
- About the Author
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Inja Kim
Writer of ‘My Grandma Reads Me Books’, ‘Don’t Tell Daddy Don’t Tell Granny’ and ‘A Secret Box’
I love my grandmother and grandfather so much that I wrote a picturebook with them as my main characters. It is my dream to write the stories of grandparents all over the world into picturebooks. In addition, my most important readers are them. I have visited many cities to read picturebooks to the elderly since 1984. As a picturebook writer, I am most happy when they see the calmly lit stories of their past lives in the picturebooks and laugh from enjoyment.Bora Kim
Illustrator of ‘A Secret Box’
I studied textile art at Hongik University in Seoul. After I paint on paper, I make another drawing by sewing on the picture with excitement every day. My work was first introduced through ‘A Secret Box’ as illustrations, not framed as art usually is. I hope this artistic expression, which is uncommon to see in picturebooks, will be a pleasant stimulus for young readers. - Selection
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Book of the Year by Morning Reading Organization (2013)
