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49th out of 82 books
—
165 voters
The House Baba Built: An Artist's Childhood in China
by
Ed Young,
Libby Koponen (Goodreads Author)
I knew nothing could happen to us within those walls, in the house Baba built.
In Ed Young's childhood home in Shanghai, all was not as it seemed: a rocking chair became a horse; a roof became a roller rink; an empty swimming pool became a place for riding scooters and bikes. The house his father built transformed as needed into a place to play hide-and-seek, to eat bamboo...more
In Ed Young's childhood home in Shanghai, all was not as it seemed: a rocking chair became a horse; a roof became a roller rink; an empty swimming pool became a place for riding scooters and bikes. The house his father built transformed as needed into a place to play hide-and-seek, to eat bamboo...more
Hardcover, 48 pages
Published
October 3rd 2011
by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
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I'm always intrigued to read about the childhood of authors, because they are often so fascinating. All that creative energy has to come from somewhere, right? Ed Young is no exception. This loving tribute to a childhood lived amidst a war, but somehow cushioned, insulated from it all. In the house his Baba built, he felt safe, and obviously, very loved. It sounds as though it was a house filled with people, laughter and fun. And his father was a clever and giving man, who offered a place for th...more
What a fun story about a man with great foresight and skill. Ed Young's father came up with a creative plan to build a big house for his family in a safe area of Shanghai. This must have been an amazing house, but equally amazing is his children's ability to be so creative in the house. The children were imaginative and playful and had many wonderful adventures in the house.
I like the way this book was created. There are many interesting text features that add to the interest of the book. The il...more
I like the way this book was created. There are many interesting text features that add to the interest of the book. The il...more
This is a memoir of illustrator and author Ed Young's (Lon Po Po- Caldecott winner) family as a young boy living in China in the 1930's when Japan invades its shores and starts a war to control the nation. In this story the boy's father builds a house and moves his young family in. He built the house to stand in a safe place and built the walls to withstand bombs. The story tells how the family lived and the children played. It also eludes to the deteriorating effects of the war as other familie...more
Ed Young, winner of the 1990 Caldecott Medal for Lon Po Po and recipient of two Caldecot Honors(including one for Seven Blind Mice, which I love!), grew up in China, during World War II. His father, Baba, built a home for his family--five children, his mother, himself--the part of Shanghai safest from the Japanese bombs. I think the interesting part about this book is just how normal it all seems, despite there being a World War taking place in this family's backyard: the children are always hun...more
What a treasure this memory-filled book is! The multimedia illustrations by Ed Young, who himself is an artistic treasure, are filled with images of the artist and his family during their early years in Shanghai. In order to keep the family safe, Ed's engineer father designed and built a house on the edge of the town. So structurally sound was the house [Ed's father built double-tiered walls from bricks and covered the roof with concrete--that it survived World War II, something the illustrator...more
About a year ago, I reviewed Allen Say's autobiographical work Drawing from Memory and the effect World War II had on his life growing up in Yokohama, Japan. Ed Young's The House Baba Built is also an autobiographical work and describes his life in Shanghai, China during the war.
Ed Young's father was an engineer and realizing that war was coming to China, he decided he needed a safe place for himself, his wife and five children to live in. The safest place would be around the foreign embassies i...more
Ed Young's father was an engineer and realizing that war was coming to China, he decided he needed a safe place for himself, his wife and five children to live in. The safest place would be around the foreign embassies i...more
"The House Baba Built: An Artist's Childhood in China" by Ed Young is a visually stunning memoir of Young's childhood growing up in "the house that Baba built" in Shanghai. The mixed medium artwork, as well as the text express warmth, peace, and comfort - though World War II is raging around them. Young's father wanted to build a house in the safest part of the city, but the land was too expensive, so his father made a deal with a wealthy landowner. He would build a large, brick house with a gar...more
I sort of both loved and disliked this book. The illustrations have an odd color palette that is beautiful and intriguing at the same time as it is unsettling, especially coupled with the odd mix of media and the sense of time and repetition in the images. At the same time, the overall feel of the book is warm, tender, and comfortable, inviting the reader right in to the house in Shanghai. The pattern of the "story" and the simplicity of the words work well together. They seem to create a sort o...more
His father's insight into world events, engineering knowledge, and negotiating acumen allowed Young's family to live reasonably comfortably and safely in China during the Depression, occupation, and World War II. Visually gorgeous mixed media combine with Libby Koponen's lyrical text to draw readers into the safe environment created by his parents. Young includes old family photos, sketches of siblings,relatives, and refugees, and diagrams of the house, using the book's large format and fold-out...more
I would like to give this book 4 stars, because I enjoyed the text very much. However, I didn't care for the illustrations, which were of cut and torn paper, drawings, and photos compiled into collages, some of them opening out into 3-page spreads. They just didn't appeal to me. Ed Young talks about growing up in Shanghai in the house his father built, during the 1930s and through World War II. I was surprised to learn that the activities they enjoyed, the movies, the books, and games, were no d...more
"Crisis does carry a blessing within its curse. It's up to us to find it" I loved reading that because it fits into so many aspects of our life. THE HOUSE BABA BUILT is a story about a Chinese family that makes the best out a bad situation. China was at war and the family needed a safe place to live So BABA built a house for him and his five children and wife, a house that provided all that was needed for a family to survive and thrive. Thanks to a little imagination the children were able to no...more
A visually arresting account of Ed Young's early years in pre World War 2 Shanghai, living in a sturdy house built by his father on the edge of town. A fascinating photo towards the end of the book shows the house as it was in Young's childhood, and as it still stands today. Fold outs and cut paper art overlaid with family photos and soft crayon sketches make each page interesting to study. The book feels like an homage to the artist's beloved father, who exemplified safety and security in times...more
This is Ed Young's picture book memoir about growing up in Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s. The huge house his father build provided a home for several families during World War II. The collages, drawings, and paintings are distinguished and a first-person account is always a thing to treasure. However, I don't know that children will be able to relate to the vignette-style text as well as they might be able to relate to, say, Allen Say's recently released picture book memoir of his childhood in...more
A beautiful book. The house that Baba built, in Japanese-occupied China during the 1930s, is a haven for the author and his family. As the war escalates, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even a German family join them in the house. Despite the effects of war, the house is full of love and fun and family. The mixed-media illustrations, with the occasional fold-out page, are wonderful. Recommended as a read-aloud for all ages, and for 3rd to 5th grade readers.
(Note: I received a free advance reading co...more
(Note: I received a free advance reading co...more
-cover: intricate gate design encourages exploration -takes awhile to notice boy and dog at bottom
-map and phot endpapers fit story
-beautiful, textured papers throughout
-crows, finally explained at end, give a good foreshadowing of the dark desperation of the time
-love the delicate detail of the faces of the children
-layout of house when first shown is interesting-torn paper people add interest
-silhoette children are a curious choice-to allow identification?
-photos are great!
-color is also very...more
-map and phot endpapers fit story
-beautiful, textured papers throughout
-crows, finally explained at end, give a good foreshadowing of the dark desperation of the time
-love the delicate detail of the faces of the children
-layout of house when first shown is interesting-torn paper people add interest
-silhoette children are a curious choice-to allow identification?
-photos are great!
-color is also very...more
Ed Young is a standard among Children's books, so I was very excited to read this Picture Book bio he wrote of his childhood. It took me a few pages to get used to the illustrations and layout, but I loved it. It really did well in portraying reminiscing. And the text/stories were relayed just as one would talk about their past/childhood. And the feeling I got from the book overall, it made me not only wish to be more a part of the house Baba built, but to record and talk more of the home(s) my...more
My library has this book classified as a biography, but I don't think that is an accurate classification. This book provides snapshots of what it was like living in a particular house in Shanghai during World War II and some events before and after. It's more like a series of vignettes rather than a complete narrative. That being said, it's a wonderfully illustrated, innovative story. It made me want to know more about the family, particularly Baba. This would be a great book to enrich discussio...more
Dec 26, 2011
Lisa Vegan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of biographies, of history, of childhood stories, and Ed Young fans
Outstanding!
This is a stellar true story, a biography of sorts, by one of the sons of Baba. During the Great Depression and then WWII, Baba kept his family safe. He was smart and clever and principled, and skilled. He built a house for his family, and was eventually joined by extended family and a refugee family from Germany. This was in Shanghai. Somehow, Baba managed to not only protect his family from bombs and invaders but from fear as well.
The multimedia illustrations, made up of real phot...more
This is a stellar true story, a biography of sorts, by one of the sons of Baba. During the Great Depression and then WWII, Baba kept his family safe. He was smart and clever and principled, and skilled. He built a house for his family, and was eventually joined by extended family and a refugee family from Germany. This was in Shanghai. Somehow, Baba managed to not only protect his family from bombs and invaders but from fear as well.
The multimedia illustrations, made up of real phot...more
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This is a great book that could be used for a variety of lessons and even for upper grades. It addresses some of what life was like for a young boy in Shanghai during World War II. This could be great to use to compare and contrast cultures and get students to see different views of world events, such as WWII. It also has unique illustrations that include photographs and flip out pages. It is informational and an enlightening look into the culture of China at the time through engaging narrative...more
Ed Young is another artist/author that I idolize. I had the honor of meeting & introducing him at a BYU symposium a few years ago. Although he is now 80 years old, he is still keeps producing amazing illustrations using new artistic media & stories about the life & folklore of China. This new title is about his childhood & how his father kept his family safe in a home he designed & built in Shanghai during the war with Japan & later WWII. He also took in other family memb...more
Ed Young tells about the house, and more importantly, the home his Grandfather built for his family in Shanghai. This Shanghai though was the one before the 1931 Japanese invasion, and then the occupation of the city. As we watch Ed grow and see the how Baba taught the family the importance of living well, we see how values are instilled in the family. This wonderful autobiography is beautiful, not only in its prose but in the wonderful collages that illustrate the story. It's a children's story...more
I'm not that familiar with Ed Young's work, but this is a beautiful memoir. In a way, it's similar to the recent memoir by Allen Say, but rather than focus on his path to becoming an artist, Young's memoir tells of his childhood in China during WWII. The illustrations are fascinating blends of drawings, photos, collage, and other kinds of art I can't name. The cover doesn't suit the book at all, and because of it, I put off reading this book for too long. Do be fooled by the cover; dive into and...more
Although this book is cataloged as a Juvenile Biography, it can easily interest middle-schoolers.
Author, Ed Young, tells the story of his life, as a child, during the depression and WW11. Young's father, Baba, is a brilliant man who builds a house to keep his family and others safe during the turbulent times.
What's unique about the book is that, Young utilizes multi-media such as photos, sketches drawn by those who lived in the house, and artwork which makes the story come alive. Very worthy rea...more
Author, Ed Young, tells the story of his life, as a child, during the depression and WW11. Young's father, Baba, is a brilliant man who builds a house to keep his family and others safe during the turbulent times.
What's unique about the book is that, Young utilizes multi-media such as photos, sketches drawn by those who lived in the house, and artwork which makes the story come alive. Very worthy rea...more
Mar 11, 2012
Donna
added it
Born in 1931 the fourth of five siblings, Ed Young spent the years of the great depression, Japanese occupation, and World War II in a magnificent environment thanks to his father’s building skills and negotiating acumen. The esteemed Young, a senior talent in the world of children’s literature, celebrates his baba’s loving care and his extended family’s safe passage through terrible times in this collage-illustrated memoir.
In exchange for building the house on a Shanghai property he couldn’t af...more
In exchange for building the house on a Shanghai property he couldn’t af...more
Illustrator Ed Young grew up in Shanghai during World War II. His father managed to get them a house that was safe because he built it himself. He made a deal with the landowner that he would build a house and after 20 years, the landowner would get it free and clear. But in those 20 years, Ed Young’s family lived there. It was a huge home with a swimming pool, space to roller skate on the roof, staircases to slide down, and lots of other places to play. This is the story of growing up in that h...more
A unique book of the author's childhood in Shanghai during WWII. Wonderful illustrations and floor plans of the house his father "baba" built. Quoted from the book, "a successful life and a happy life is one as measured by how much you have accomplished for others and not one as measured by how much you've done for yourself". The author shared the powerful words from his dad at the end of the book. And these words will haunt you in a good way for a long time.
This is a biogrpahy of Ed Young, children's illustrator and author. What makes this book so amazing is the illustrations. The scrapbook feel with real photos cut out and mixed in with beautiful pages reflect asian culture. An afterward and author's note give more details about the creation of the book and some pictures of the home, then and now. A worthwhile purchase for the illustrations and for viewing war through a child's eyes.
I read this book not long after reading Drawing from Memory - two fascinating memoirs set around Asia during and after WWII. This book is less about Young's artistic influences as what his family did to survive WWII, but the layouts are quite interesting. I also must confess a weakness for this book since my mother also lived in Shanghai during the war, and it gave me a springboard for talking to her about her experiences.
A touching and beautifully created memoir of Caldecott Homor artist/illustrator Ed Young. This book recalls the years he spent living in Shanghai during WWII. The artwork is amazing and the story interesting. Background info would be needed if used in a classroom setting.
Engaging enough to keep me pouring over it and examining the visually arresting work for a good long time.
Engaging enough to keep me pouring over it and examining the visually arresting work for a good long time.
It's a very good thing when Ed Young came to the United States to study architecture that he switched to illustration of children's books. Our lives are the better for it. This title is an intimate look at life in Shanghai when his family lived in a home his father designed to give them protection prior to the war.
Read my full review at:
http://bit.ly/zI3B4d
Read my full review at:
http://bit.ly/zI3B4d
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