THE BOY IN THE GARDEN

Say, Allen.  The Boy in the Garden.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.  ISBN 978-0-547-21410-8.


Plot Summary

Jiro is read the story of The Grateful Crane by his mother.  When he visits a garden with a bronze statue of a crane, Jiro pretends the statue is the crane in the story.  He falls asleep and dreams the crane turns into a lady, just as it did in the folk legend.


Critical Analysis

The Boy in the Garden begins with the folk legend The Grateful Crane.  A poor woodcutter rescues a crane from a snare and sets it free.  Later that night, a beautiful woman, who is lost in the snowstorm, seeks shelter at the woodcutter's house.  The two would eventually marry.  The story concludes by revealing the woman is the crane who was saved by the woodcutter when he sees her weaving by feeding her feathers into the loom. 

Jiro is a young boy with his black hair cut above his ears and neckline, with bangs almost to his eyebrows.  He is short and stocky with an olive complexion.  For most of the story, he is dressed in reddish-brown pants, a dark green coat, a yellow scarf, yellow mittens, and brown shoes.  During his dream, he is wearing a blue plaid kimono, which is a full-length robe, tied with a light yellow obi, or sash, and tabi, which are split-toe socks.  The crane wife from the folk legend is pictured with a pale complexion wearing a green kimono with a yellow and red obi.  Her long, straight, black hair is worn in a ponytail tied with a yellow piece of fabric.  The crane woman from Jiro's dream is short, has an alabaster complexion, and is seen wearing a white kimono with a lime-green obi.  Except for one illustration where she is wearing a green scarf over her head, the crane woman wears her long, straight, black hair loose.  Mr. Ozu, the owner of the garden, is of medium height and is a fair-skinned man who dresses in a very formal fashion in a green nagajuban, which is an inner kimono worn beneath the outer kimono, a burnt-orange kimono, brown obi, and a lime-green haori, which is a thigh-length jacket worn over a kimono.  Mr. Ozu appears to be bald.  Jiro's father is tall, has a very light brown complexion, and is shown wearing a brown overcoat, black dress pants, a white dress shirt, a green tie, an orange scarf in one illustration, a magenta scarf in two other illustrations, black leather gloves, and black dress shoes.  His hair is combed to the right side and is cut above his ears and neckline.  All of the characters appear to have black eyes which are slightly slanted.  Say uses the term kimono, but the other terms for the Japanese articles of clothing were acquired from the following website:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimono.

Say does not mention in which country The Boy in the Garden takes place.  It appears to be set in modern times, with the action taking place in and around Mr. Ozu's famous garden.  Jiro and his father visit Mr. Ozu on January 3rd to wish him a Happy New Year.  Jiro's father carries a red package, presumably to give to Mr. Oku.  Mr. Oku gives Jiro a red envelope which Jiro knows is filled with money, but it is considered impolite to open it in front of the giver, so he will open it later.  Although not stated, red is a traditional color used during celebrations.  Jiro is seen briefly in a great hallway with wooden floors in Mr. Ozu's house.  The hallway has a wooden wall on one side and a wall of windows, which face the garden, on the other side.  Other than a painting of a lady wearing a kimono, there are no cultural markers in this illustration.  The garden has various topiaries, white stepping stones, large gray rocks, a stone river bed, various stone sculptures, and a bronze statue of a life-size crane.  The teahouse walls and floor appear to be wooden and the windows and doors are made of shoji screens, which are wooden frames that are covered with rice paper.  There is a fire pit in the middle of the floor over which a cast iron pot and fish are hanging from a metal hook attached to a bamboo pole which descends from the ceiling. 

The Boy in the Garden revolves around the retelling of The Grateful Crane.  While walking alone in Mr. Ozu's garden, he spies the bronze crane and pretends to rescue it, as the woodcutter did in the story.  When his father and Mr. Ozu, who see him from the house, find his actions humorous, Jiro hides in the tearoom and falls asleep.  In his dream, the crane woman comes to the tea room and gives him some soup.  The next day in Jiro's dream, he tells the crane woman he is going to go to work, sell some firewood, and buy them something to eat.  He returns that night with no food.  When the crane woman says she is going to do some weaving, Jiro begs her not to because he knows that will cause her to turn back into a crane.  It is at this point that Jiro's father wakes him up from his dream and tells him that it is time to go home.  His father tries to join in the fantasy by telling Jiro that, for just a moment, the crane statue looked like a real crane.

Say's watercolor illustrations are very colorful and depict a sense of Japanese culture.  He uses a lot of browns and greens in his background colors.  His characters are slightly different from each other.  The skin complexion of each one is a different shade.  The blending of the traditional Japanese dress of the two women and Mr. Ozu is in sharp contrast to the more western-world attire worn by Jiro and his father.  Say's illustrations in The Boy in the Garden would be a great way to introduce young children to various aspects of Japanese dress and architecture.  The illustrations of the garden and the tearoom make the reader want to jump in the book and go visit this location in person. 

In searching for a universal truth, the only thing which stood out was in the story of The Grateful Crane.  The woodcutter had a beautiful wife who could weave lavish material to be sold whenever they ran out of money.  Because of the woodcutter's greed and by breaking his promise, he lost everything.  The reader could be reminded to be content with what one has and to keep one's word.  Other than that, The Boy in the Garden tells the story of a boy with a vivid imagination who tries his best to provide for the crane woman so she will be kept from having to revert to her existence as a crane.

Readers of all ages can remember their dreams which sometimes seemed more real than true life.  Using one's imagination is something that one should never outgrow.  Continue to dream and use your imagination to explore new possibilities.  Life can be a series of exciting adventures if one is willing to look past the ordinary boundaries of reality.

 

 

Awards and Honors

 

Parents' Choice Award, 2010 Silver Picture Books United States

   

Review Excerpts

“Say's watercolors have a smooth, even control that's perfect for his realistic portraiture, with far-reaching landscapes emphasizing Jiro's isolation, but that mode also manages to shade seamlessly into an airy, slightly stylized folkloric style in the crane wife herself and in her household with Jiro; the first view up the curving path of stones to the little cottage is a silent evocation of embarkation into the world of legend." ~ Deborah Stevenson,  The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 2010 

"Say uses watercolors to create his full-page naturalistic scenes of the characters, buildings, and garden. Jiro is a curious, attractive youngster. The woman in her white robe and long black hair is convincingly magical. The visuals add significantly to the tone and emotions of the fantasy.” ~ Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz,  Children's Literature

"A series of dreamlike paintings done in the Caldecott winner's customarily precise and beautifully lit watercolors blurs the lines between reality and fantasy and limns Jiro's conflicted emotions as he seems to enter the story that bonds him to his mother, only to awaken to his father's voice telling him it is time to return home. This is a beautiful, moving, quietly mysterious read, ripe with possibilities for interpretation and contemplation." ~  Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2010


Other Books Written by Allen Say

Grandfather's Journey
Music for Alice
Emma's Rug

Visit the publisher's website for more information: 
     http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/allensay/author.shtml


Book Connections

The Crane Wife retold by Odds Bodkin and illustrated by Gennady Spirin
The Loyal Cat retold by Lensey Namioka and illustrated by Aki Sogabe
One Leaf Rides the Wind:  Counting in a Japanese Garden by Celeste Davidson
     Mannis and illustrated by Susan Kathleen Hartung

 

Connection Activities

• Share one or more of the 19 animated Japanese folk legends available for viewing at http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/folk/index.html.
• Every May 5th, Kodomo no hi, or Children's Day, is celebrated in Japan.  Carp are a symbol of Children's Day because they are strong enough to swim upstream, even up waterfalls, and represent strength and success in life.  Families hang carp kites to signify their children will be strong and successful in life.  Have your students create their own carp kites using the pattern and instructions located at http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/carp-kite-craft.