Drawn Together

Title: Drawn Together
Author: Minh Lê

Illustrator: Dan Santat
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Awards: 2019 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature- Picture Book Winner
Grade Level: PK - 2

Visiting his grandfather's house, a young boy does not feel too excited about being there. They have a generational and cultural gap and differences in preference. Even when they are trying to say the same thing, all of their attempts to talk with each other end in awkward silence because their language barrier makes communicating difficult. Tired of the silence, the boy takes out his markers and color pencils and starts to draw himself as a wizard. Noticing his grandson's drawing, the grandfather takes out his ink and paintbrush and draws himself as a Thai warrior. From there, a world without words was formed and they were drawn together through their love of art. At the end of the day, they were much happier even though they were still not able to talk and the boy left with his mother holding his grandfather's brush while his grandfather held his marker. A wordless picturebook, most of the story is told through the illustrations. Only through the illustrations are we able to see the characters' expressions, contrast, and evolution. The boy has a colorful and carefree style while the grandfather has a detailed and precise traditional ink style. While they were bonding, they exchanged drawing styles and it started to blend together. I would use this book to show that connections can be made even without words. The illustrations bring the story to life and with so few words, students have to make inferences and conclusions to comprehend. Students could discuss other ways to communicate and connect with others and find out more about their family history.