fizzingwhizbee's review
5.0
read this at the same time as [b:Sato the Rabbit|55844147|Sato the Rabbit|Yuki Ainoya|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1604998818l/55844147._SX50_.jpg|84184804], so this book is also proven to cure art-block! also, the formatting is amazing and i'm in love with the art.
fernandie's review
4.0
First of all, you need to view the book's boards. Either take the dust jacket off or, if you have a library copy with a mylar cover, open the book carefully so the jacket gaps away from the book to allow you to peek the boards. They're a plant green linen foil-stamped with a somewhat different image than the dust jacket. Gorgeous.
As for the rest of the book...
The illustrations appear to have been done in colored pencil, although the art note at the end specifies that they were rendered in pencil but colored digtally. Pretty good digital work; it looks just like colored pencil lines. Castrillón employs a more limited color palette post-move (in the city) than pre-move, at least until the plants start blooming, at which point the yellows and greens and oranges reappear. The palette is subdued again when depicting any neighbors who have not yet started growing plants / experiencing the joy of the plants.
The arrangement of the vignettes within the spreads will help teach kids sequential literacy.
The book is mostly wordless. The few words it does include are more decorative or descriptive than essential to the story, although they enhance your understanding of the story. Kids who don't read yet (or don't read English) will still have a good understanding of what the words mean or are saying.
As for the rest of the book...
The illustrations appear to have been done in colored pencil, although the art note at the end specifies that they were rendered in pencil but colored digtally. Pretty good digital work; it looks just like colored pencil lines. Castrillón employs a more limited color palette post-move (in the city) than pre-move, at least until the plants start blooming, at which point the yellows and greens and oranges reappear. The palette is subdued again when depicting any neighbors who have not yet started growing plants / experiencing the joy of the plants.
The arrangement of the vignettes within the spreads will help teach kids sequential literacy.
The book is mostly wordless. The few words it does include are more decorative or descriptive than essential to the story, although they enhance your understanding of the story. Kids who don't read yet (or don't read English) will still have a good understanding of what the words mean or are saying.
bookdingo's review
5.0
The folk art style illustrations will carry you away as we follow a little girl who has to deal with the perils of moving to a new home (country mouse into city mouse) but then she realizes how to create her ideal home environment no matter where she is. Lovely!
maggiehackwrench's review
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
iseefeelings's review
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
The Balcony is a lovely tribute to nature and its power to build a community. Melissa Castrillon is a master of layout design: you can see a diverse range of compositions in this book. Simultaneously, she told the whole story clearly without explaining it in long verses. Text is limited, usually just one word that appears on pages that reflects a change or high point of the story. The muted colours also elevate the nostalgic and whimsical feeling the book brings out. One thing worth mentioning is the book format: it is tall and steady as if it is a tree, waiting for readers to come and reveal itself.
calistareads's review
3.0
This is the 3rd time I have seen this story which is good because I love this type of story. The difference is this is wordless. A girl loves plants and lives in the rural areas with gardens around her. Her parents get a job, she moves to the city and grows plants on her balcony and it changes the city around her. It’s been done.
For a Wordless book, Melissa uses words instead of art to get across ideas like Home, job letters and friends. She doesn’t let the art speak for itself. The art also has the golden hue to it that sort of bothered me a bit and the color pallet is muted, which this is wordless, bring on the color. So I like what it’s telling, story wise, but I don’t think the execution was to my taste. I found it lacking.
The nephew liked the story because it was short and he enjoys making up stories. The book is tall and skinny - a funny shape. He wasn’t crazy about the artwork either and he had a hard time bringing monsters into the story. He gave this 2 stars.
For a Wordless book, Melissa uses words instead of art to get across ideas like Home, job letters and friends. She doesn’t let the art speak for itself. The art also has the golden hue to it that sort of bothered me a bit and the color pallet is muted, which this is wordless, bring on the color. So I like what it’s telling, story wise, but I don’t think the execution was to my taste. I found it lacking.
The nephew liked the story because it was short and he enjoys making up stories. The book is tall and skinny - a funny shape. He wasn’t crazy about the artwork either and he had a hard time bringing monsters into the story. He gave this 2 stars.
fieereads's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.25
The illustration is so really beautiful and gorgeous. Ini buku cerita setipe sama The Arrival nya Shaun Tan, picture without words. Dan semua ilustrasi nya cukup banget capturing maksud si ilustator, tentang moving on and open up new opportunity in new place yang diambil dari persepektif seorang anak kecil.