Bo Lu makes an impressive picture book debut with Bao's Doll, in which she transforms misunderstandings into profound empathy.
Bao understandably wants what the other little girls have: birthday cake, balloons, and to "share jokes, snuggles, and dreams with Mama." She's particularly enthralled with "a very special, very expensive, All-American Amanda doll." But Mama doesn't hear or see Bao's longings. "When I was a little girl in Taiwan, we had nothing," Mama repeats, which just makes Bao stop listening. The situation feels so unfair that Bao attempts to steal an Amanda doll. Her failure leaves Mama and the girl in unbearable silence. Bao's eventual apology allows Mama to open up about her faraway, lonely childhood when she could only dream of her absent mother. Mama pulls out a "dusty tin box filled with bittersweet memories" and, together, mother and daughter create "from Mama's memories and Bao's hopes" a doll of Bao's own.
Lu reveals touching elements of autobiographical inspiration in her author's note. She re-creates the silence that loomed in her life through stirring digital artwork: the after-hours dimness of the restaurant where Mama works places both Mama and Bao in their own darkened worlds. Lu turns Mama's tin box into poignant bubbles depicting faded scenes from Mama's past. Spotlighting the tin in orange with the character "sugar" hints at the sweetness to come. Lu brilliantly swathes Bao in reds, Mama in blues--then lightens their backgrounds from purples to lilacs as they connect and reach understanding. --Terry Hong