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Anya, a young girl who has a special talent for kirigami, the Japanese art of cutting and folding paper, lives in the village of Paperlee. All of the village houses are made of paper. The trees are made of delicate paper, and even the happy villagers are paper-thin and paper-light. They carry stones in their pockets when the summer winds blow. The villagers can see the lights of another village on a neighboring mountain across a deep chasm. It is called Forestlee, and no one knows anything about it. The winds in Paperlee become more frequent and stronger, and the worrisome villagers think that maybe Forestlee can help, but they don’t know how to get there. Anya consults with the clever crane, and they come up with a plan to build a paper bridge to Forestlee. Brave Anya is the first to walk across the bridge. She meets a girl named Hazel and learns that the villagers of Forestlee build their homes in branches of thick, solid trees and that their Elephant Brothers blow their windmills. As their windmills turn, they grind wheat into flour for baking breads, cakes, buns, and cookies. In doing so, they have changed the weather! Anya pleads for the Elephant Brothers to blow in a different direction to save Paperlee. They finally agree. People from both villages now cross the bridge and share the kirigami craft and cookie baking. They all become friends, and there are no more dangerous winds in Paperlee. The light, exquisite illustrations in The Paper Bridge were created using the Japanese art of kirigami. The artwork was hand-crafted with pencil and watercolor on paper and cardboard, which was hand-cut, arranged into scenes, and then photographed to capture the stunning details in this delightful story about friendship, bravery, and climate change. The art really makes this book!
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Title: The Paper Bridge Author: Joelle Veyrenc Illustrator: Seng Soun Ratanavanh Publisher: Floris Books Copyright: 2022 Original Language: French Translator: Katy Lockwood-Holmes Original Title: Hana et le vent Original Publisher: La Martmiere Jeunesse, Paris Original Copyright: 2022 ISBN: 978-178250-9007-3 Hardcover pages: 28 Age range: 4-7 Genre: Picture Book, Fairytale Author’s ethnicity: French Author’s residence: France Illustrator’s ethnicity: French, born in Laos Illustrator’s residence: Paris Subjects: Bridges, Climate change, Kirigami, Paper cutting, Paper folding, Parable |