Drawn Together by Minh Le

 Le, M. (2018). Drawn together (D. Santat, Illus.). Little, Brown and Company.

This book tells a story many immigrant families can relate to, the story of a grandfather and grandson being unable to connect because of a language barrier. Because the two lack words for each other, not for lack of trying, this book limits its use of words as well. For the first quarter of the book, we only read two different phrases written in the two different languages. Every other page lacks words, emphasizing the silence shared between these two family members. Only when the two begin to connect through the language of images do we get narration from the grandchild’s perspective which illuminates the realization and understanding happening that was previously thought to be impossible. Even when the words start coming into the book, they are almost dwarfed by the images, showing that the words are not nearly as important in this book and therefore in this relationship that we are observing.

The use of mixed media allows there to be three different art styles present in this book and each one has a specific reason behind it. When we are in the real world of the book, the colors are muted keeping us in the reality of the story. The visit has been dreary and disappointing, so the colors match this dreary tone.

Once we step into the world of the characters’ illustrations two new styles take shape, one for each character to match their personality. The young boy’s drawings are full of color and flatter with a more amateurish quality while the grandfather’s drawings are black and white ink with intricate designs and details displaying years of acquired talent. Each character is given an avatar for their illustrated world which, while inhabiting different designs, share commonalities to enforce the idea that this pair also has commonalities to share. Both avatars are dressed in similar garb and both wield instruments to make their creations. These differences and similarities are most obvious in a symmetrically drawn spread putting both avatars on display.

After this deliberate separation, as the story goes on, we see the art styles continue to mingle with each other more and more with each page turn until they are forced to adopt each other’s styles to defeat a dragon. With this switch, we see that the pair are finally communicating in a way that they both understand, learning to understand each other in a new way. This story is great for any child that has a hard time communicating with others in their life whether it be because of a generational gap or language barrier. It teaches that there is always a universal language to be learned even if that language feels unconventional – if they are willing to try, it can work.