'I have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea.'
'[They] crinkle into crescent moons [...]''[They] sparkle like the stars.'
'Gold flecks dance and twirl [...] [They carry] tales of the past and hope for the future.'
'My eyes find mountains that rise ahead and look up when others shut down.'
'My eyes [...] are a revolution.'
'[My eyes, my family] are me. And they are beautiful.'
An absolutely, positively, all-encompassing-ly, all-encapsulating-ly, gorgeous picture book, about the females in each generation of a modern Asian family.
I love everything about it. The art, the colours, the characters, the indescribable beauty of how the images from Chinese mythology are drawn and painted, and the dresses and festivities from Chinese culture. I particularly love that it isn't overtly about bigotry; it is just about a little girl who loves herself and her family, and her culture and heritage. She has a lot to be proud of. Never mind that she may be different from her school friends, who only appear on the first page. This isn't about them.
Flowers. Butterflies. Tea. Painting. Fruit. Mulan (!). Moon goddesses. Lotuses. Guanyin the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion and mercy. The Monkey King. Lychee trees. Mountains. The sea. Magic fish. Dragons. Phoenixes with peacock feather tails. This book really is like drinking warm, aromatic tea. So peaceful and comforting.
'Eyes that Kiss in the Corners' is art. It is beauty, serenity, love and freedom, all in one artform. And all from the eyes of an unsullied, unpressured, uncorrupted child. May she never, ever hate herself.
Care for and appreciate your loving and lovely family, always, while you can.
Final Score: 5/5
P.S. My first five star review of 2022 is of a book that is already a new favourite of mine. Joy!
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