Friday, May 24, 2019

Picture Book - Cicada by Shaun Tan

Illustrated by the author
2019 Arthur A. Levine Books
$19.99 (ridiculous anymore!)
32 pgs.
Goodreads rating:  4.12 - 1853 ratings
My rating:  2
Endpapers:  (Front) gray city blocks with no personality (Back) the forest and a beautiful sunrise/sunset

1st line/s:  
    " Cicada work in tall building.
      Data entry clerk.  Seventeen year.
      No sick day.  No mistake.
      Tok Tok Tok!"

My comments:  This poor cicada works for seventeen years for low pay, zero respect, and is constantly bullied and discriminated against.  Okay, I get it.  The ending, yes, is a treat.  But the message is bleak and depressing and much more for an adult than a kid.  And what on earth is "Tok Tok Tok?"  Am I missing something?  Is that supposed to be the sound a cicada makes??  Sorry to say, this book didn't do it for me.  And the jury's out on how most kids would enjoy it.... (I really did like the little guy and felt so sorry for him for those 17 years!)

Goodreads:  From the visionary Shaun Tan, an inspirational story for older picture book readers and beyond
          Cicada tells the story of a hardworking little cicada who is completely unappreciated for what he does. But in the end, just when you think he's given up, he makes a transformation into something ineffably beautiful. A metaphor for growing up? A bit of inspiration for the unappreciated striver in all of us? Yes, yes, and more.

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