The Shared Room - a bookwrap

Unwrapping

The Shared Room

Author: Kao Kalia Yang

Illustrations by Xee Reiter


* Ages:  5-11
* Grade Level:  K-5
* Hardcover:  32 pages
* Publisher:  Univ of Minnesota Press
* Pub. Date:  May 12, 2020
* Language:  English

Editorial Review

"There is such power and pain and beauty in this brave little book. It is a thing to be treasured. Children who have experienced terrible grief in their young lives and are in need of seeing their sorrow reflected and honored have a beautiful friend in this story. The Shared Room is a tender thing--all heart and hope and quiet love. I love it dearly."--Kelly Barnhill, author of Newberry Medal Winner The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Unwrapping Some Illustrations for You to Enjoy

The Book

This gentle tender book is heartbreaking but also comforting to the reader.  It tells the story of the loss of a little girl and how it affected the entire family. 

The story is about a Hmong American family who deals with their grief, unending sadness and painful restoration after the drowning of their little girl in the local swimming lake.  She walked into the water, headed in deeper and deeper never to return.  

Heartbroken the family tries to come to terms with their loss.  The little girl's room remains empty, her clothes still their drawers, and everything untouched just as she has left it.  A quietness enters the house... a hush like winter settles in their home. All family members try to come to terms, both in their minds and hearts, about the unspeakable tragedy. 

"The Shared Room" will pull at your heart strings as you observe a family coping with deep sadness and emptiness attempting to move forward and put the fractured pieces of their lives slowly back together.  It is a powerful book of hope.  I highly recommend it.  

Storywraps Rating:  5+++ HUGS! 

Meet the Author

Kao Kalia Yang is a mother of three and a writer of both adult and children’s literature. She is author of A Map into the World, the award-winning memoirs The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir and The Song Poet, and is coeditor with Shannon Gibney of What God Is Honored Here? Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss by and for Native Women and Women of Color (Minnesota, 2019). Her dream is to create books that a child can grow up with and an adult can grow old with. She lives in Minnesota where the winters are cold and dry and the summers are hot and humid, but there are days in between that are so very precious and perfect they are a state secret. 

About the Illustrator

I am a multifaceted visual artist based in the twin cities. My work ranges from but is not limited to sketchbook illustrations, paintings, textiles and lettering. As a first generation Hmong American, you can find my roots embedded in some of my work. Follow me on Instagram where my genuine curiosities are shared through my third language. She lives in St. Paul with her husband and three children. 

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