Makers
Editorial Reviews
Young Vo (Gibberish) celebrates the creative power of cooperative friendship in his gorgeous, clever picture book, Makers, featuring two apprentice boat makers.
"Once in a town by the coast," Van and Minh "dreamed of sailing across the sea together." Both had their respective talents and challenges. Van was "always trying something new" though his efforts often didn't work; Minh sought perfection, which meant he rarely finished. "They learned what floated and what did not. They made boats apart and together." When they graduate, they exchange memorable gifts: Van gives Minh a golden chisel and Minh gives Van a golden hammer. Then Van sets up his shop on the west side of town while Minh opens his on the east. Unfortunately, success proves elusive for both: Van's original ideas don't float and no one would wait for Minh's perfection. Years pass. A brief reunion, alas, becomes a missed opportunity until, after another year, the duo realizes that the gift of friendship is the answer to making both their dreams come true.
Vo's dynamic art starts as pencil-and-ink sketches which he digitally renders to create wondrously saturated and immersive spreads. He dresses his boat makers in color-coded uniforms--an energetic orange western shirt and slacks for Van and a traditional, cooler aqua Vietnamese ao dai for Minh--which cleverly align each character with the east and west locations of their shops. Combining Minh and Van's strengths suggests a most rewarding melding of east and west and modern and traditional--a perfect read-alike for fans of Drawn Together by Minh Lê and Dan Santat.
----Terry Hong, Shelf Awareness
When two apprentice boat makers in a coastal town dream of “sailing across the sea together,” their partnership amplifies their individual strengths. “Van moved from project to project, always trying something new. Minh wanted things to be perfect.” After graduation, the two open individual boat-making businesses. Vo’s digitally finished pencil and ink illustrations contrast each character’s less-than-stellar experiences: Van’s boats are innovative but impractical (a pirate rowboat promptly sinks with its client on board), while Minh is stalled by perfectionism (intensive labors result in a single tiny block). The story resolves in classic buddy-film style, with the epiphany that collaboration doesn’t mean losing individuality and the realization of their long-ago dream. Powerful partnership prevails—even when humans do their best to ignore it—in this can-do picture book.
--Publishers’ Weekly
“A charming allegory about the creative process.”
– Kirkus
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It's Dat's first day of school in a new country! Dat and his Mah made a long journey to get here, and Dat doesn't know the language. To Dat, everything everybody says - from the school bus driver to his new classmates - sounds like gibberish. How is Dat going to make new friends if they can't understand each other?
Luckily there's a friendly girl in Dat's class who knows there are other ways to communicate, besides just talking. Could she help make sense of the gibberish?
Awards/Praise
The International Literacy Association (ILA) Children's and Young Adult Book Awards
Primary Fiction Winner: Young Vo for Gibberish (Levine Querido)
I'm Your Neighbor Book Awards
2023 Multilingual Book Award Winner: Young Vo for Gibberish (Levine Querido)
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BEST OF THE YEAR 2022
Kirkus · Parents · Washington Post · Chicago Public Library · Evanston Public Library · Los Angeles Public Library · New York Public Library
Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association
CHARLOTTE HUCK RECOMMENDED BOOK
COMMON SENSE MEDIA SELECTION
★ “The execution is stellar, creating a viscerally uncomfortable experience while also infusing the narrative with humor throughout. A visually and emotionally immersive immigration story.”
--Kirkus Reviews (starred)
★ “A delightful first day of school story. Beginning readers will love this book as the illustrations say it all. He has precisely captured the emotions of a child starting school in a new place.”
--School Library Connection (starred)
★ “This picture book brilliantly conveys how terrifying and confusing it can be to adapt to a strange country and how much even one person’s acts of kindness can help. This is a story that will give hope to kids dealing with a new country and could inspire others to reach out to struggling immigrant children.”
--Booklist (starred)
“Masterly. A tender reflection of what it feels like, after being socially on the outside, when linguistic connections spark and fizz, and one’s first few words (‘tree,’ ‘boat,’ ‘book’) suddenly multiply to equal ‘home.’”
--The New York Times
“Vo’s heartwarming immigration story is beautifully told, with multimedia illustrations that shine on each spread. This uplifting story is a welcome addition to any collection.”
--School Library Journal
“Artwork, though, fills in much of the emotional experience from Dat’s side of the language divide. He ideates the gibberish-spewing school community as black and white cartoon characters that stylistically recall George Herriman’s language-challenged Krazy Kat.”
--The Bulletin
“Splendid…A powerful story about compassion and finding one’s voice. There are an increasing number of picture books about immigration, but this one stands above the rest in its brilliant and deeply felt depiction of how it feels for children just like Dat.”
—Julie Danielson, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
“Brilliant, metaphorical illustrations move from cartooney black and white to realistic color to illuminate Vo’s exceptional storytelling… It’s a must-share book that beautifully shows the challenges of language learning.”
—Melissa Taylor, Imagination Soup
“The ingenuity and playfulness of the art, as well as the book's overarching message, make this title a must for any child's library.”
--Shelf Awareness