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PICTURE BOOKS
Kobayashi, Yutaka

Return to the Most Beautiful Village in the World

48 pp. | Museyon | August, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-940842-45-5 $17.99
(2) K-3 Yamo's Village series. Translated by Mariko Shii Gharbi. When we last saw Mirado in The Circus Comes to the Village (rev. 1/20), he decided to leave his remote Afghani village of Paghman to join a traveling circus as a flutist. Now Mirado, still with the circus, has "gotten used to living in strange places" but longs for Paghman and is haunted by a song his father used to sing about its beauty. When his flute, a gift from his father who has yet to return from war, cracks and then breaks, Mirado knows it's time to return. Mirado's solitary journey back to Paghman involves a train and a bus, until he must venture forth on foot, as the landscape becomes ­increasingly remote. Exquisite illustrations of Mirado's trip range from expansive double-page spreads of a village nestled on a plain to single pages that capture a distinct moment (a lonely walk in the cold dusk); a juxtaposition of driving rain and blustery wind; and several precarious mountain passes. Suspense builds as Mirado gets closer to home, culminating in a devastating arrival. The prevailing mood of loss and longing is lifted by a heart-warming reunion and the hope that spring will bring growth and new life to Paghman. This haunting picture book asks many complex questions about the human cost of war: What happens when homes and families are destroyed? And how do survivors carry on?
Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

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