Official Review: The Grizzly Bear's Eyelash

[bookowlie]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Grizzly Bear's Eyelash" by T. Jacira Paolino.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Grizzly Bear’s Eyelash by T. Jacira Paolino is an illustrated fable of approximately 30 pages. It is categorized in the Other Fiction genre, although the target audience appears to be children. Miyaku’s husband returns from the war with a change in his personality. He has become distant and angry and has even stopped going to work. Heartbroken, she visits the village witch to request a magic potion so that her husband can become the warm, loving man he used to be. The witch tells Miyaku she will honor her request only upon receipt of a freshly plucked eyelash from a grizzly bear. The witch’s requirement is highly dangerous to achieve, but Miyaku is determined to see her husband turn back into his old self again.

I enjoyed this simple, touching story. Miyaku’s plight is realistic and relatable. Soldiers are often traumatized by war experiences and act differently when they come home. Although plucking an eyelash from a bear is a seemingly impossible task, you can feel Miyaku’s overwhelming desire to heal her husband’s troubled soul.

The tale is told in simple, easy to read text. There are a few words that might be too sophisticated for a younger child such as “comprehend” and “motionless”, but the bulk of the language would be easy for a child to understand.

This short, well-written book packs a big punch. The plot is creative and contains a surprising twist. As with all fables, there is a moral at the end. Adults and children of all ages would certainly relate to this universal message.

The main issue I have with this story is the artwork. The colorful illustrations are somewhat amateurish. The eyes on the characters’ faces are large and sharply drawn and could look scary to a child. A few of the pictures are not portrayed accurately. The witch doesn’t look the slightest bit like a witch and the interior of her home looks like a regular person’s living quarters. Instead, the witch is drawn as a blond-haired woman dressed in the same type of clothing as Miyaku. In fact, the only way I distinguished the two women in the artwork was that their individual pictures were initially adjacent to a page of text about each of them, respectively. In addition, the first illustration of Miyaku standing with her back turned at the witch’s front door doesn’t even look like a person. It’s impossible to figure out that the brown shape in front of the door is a person, other than basic inference from the text. Although I can only assume the shape is Miyaku wearing a hooded cloak, it certainly doesn’t look like that in the picture. The door is also brown and the shape almost appears to be part of the door. On a positive note, the pictures of the bear are beautiful.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Despite the issues I had with the illustrations, this story really moved me and it deserves the highest rating. I think it would be a great story for parents or teachers to read to children, with a few important topics for discussion.

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The Grizzly Bear's Eyelash
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[gali]

Sounds like a cute book for kids. Thank you for excellent review.

[bookowlie]

Thanks Gali! Although this seems to be a children's book, I think the message is thought-provoking and something all ages would be able to relate to.

[GrizzlyBear]

Thank you for your 4 star review! The book is not meant to be solely for children, but rather for people of all ages who are dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), so although it appears to be a children's story, it is so much more than that. This is the reason it was categorized as "Fiction", and not a children's book. The lesson that Miyaku learns while obtaining the grizzly bear's eyelash is something we can all apply to our daily interactions with others - it is a universal life lesson.
The illustrations (as noted in the back of the book) were drawn by a 15 year old girl in Spain, Alice Brake. This was her first book project, and I think she did an admirable job. I particularly like the large eyes as it shows wonder and innocence as well as some creative license.

[anonanemone]

That is an admirable aim for the project. I hope the beginning or end of the book contains that information on the origins and aims of the book. These are the kind of details that draw me to a book. Congrats on the great review GrizzlyBear! Bookowlie always does a great job.

[bookowlie]

Thanks Anonanemone for the kind words.

-- 23 Nov 2015, 01:13 --

Thank you for your 4 star review! The book is not meant to be solely for children, but rather for people of all ages who are dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), so although it appears to be a children's story, it is so much more than that. This is the reason it was categorized as "Fiction", and not a children's book. The lesson that Miyaku learns while obtaining the grizzly bear's eyelash is something we can all apply to our daily interactions with others - it is a universal life lesson.
The illustrations (as noted in the back of the book) were drawn by a 15 year old girl in Spain, Alice Brake. This was her first book project, and I think she did an admirable job. I particularly like the large eyes as it shows wonder and innocence as well as some creative license.

You're most welcome. I agree that the story would be enjoyed by all ages.

Yes, I did read the info about the illustrator, as well as the other background info and acknowledgements contained in the book. I stand by the opinions stated in my review. While it is admirable that a teenager drew the artwork, I have to judge the book on its merits. Since half of the pages are full-page illustrations, they should be considered an important part of the story. As I mentioned in the review, a few of the illustrations were confusing such as the portrayal of the witch.

[GrizzlyBear]

You bring up some interesting points for me to add to the discussion topics I'm preparing to go with the book. How do you expect a witch to look? The typical one with a black pointy hat is not actually universal across different cultures. I personally like that the witch doesn't look like the stereotypical one, and is blonde! Why do we expect a witch to look a certain way? Do all sailors look a certain way? Do all cobblers look a certain way? Do all doctors look the same? Why does the witch's home look like anyone else's home in the village? How do you expect a witch's home to look?

I enjoy pushing boundaries and examining stereotypes, but cultural values also come into play here. The story was originally written (by me) in Italian. Do people from North America see things differently? Surely there are differences that can be attributed to cultural diversity, yet the underlying story is truly universal.

Thank you for adding to the discussion!

[bookowlie]

You bring up a good point about cultural differences. For example, Santa Claus is depicted differently around the world and in different eras.

[bluemel4]

I really enjoyed reading your review. It is very well done. The story sounds fantastic!

[bookowlie]

Thanks Bluemel. The ending was particularly well done.

[Tanaya]

Interesting discussion on the illustrations, and I admire you standing by your opinions. I was surprised to see that the book was given 4 stars despite those issues, so the story really must be good. Miyaku seems like a very relatable character, and her husband's predicament sounds quite compelling. Great job as always!

[bookowlie]

You bring up a good point about the rating. When I was in the middle of reading the book, I had initially assumed my rating would be 3 stars due to the illustration issues. Then two things happened - 1) most importantly, the ending was so outstanding I felt it outweighed the other issues; and 2) the last few illustrations were very pretty and moving.

[Tanaya]

I really wanna know what this ending is now.

[bookowlie]

I will give you a hint. The witch unexpectedly gives a little advice and then there is a moral, as all fables have.

[Tanaya]

Hmm, interesting...I've formed an idea in my head based on the summary you provided, but I'll have to actually read the book to see if I'm right or not. Thanks for the hint!