Yugen

Gr 4–6—Having collaborated on the award-winning Wabi Sabi, Reibstein and Young return here to examine a mother and son bond. "Yugen" is both a term of endearment for protagonist Eugene and a word encompassing "the subtle and profound…the sad beauty of human suffering," according to an author's note. Written from the child's perspective, the haiku describe how Yugen's mother held him when it was cold, placed blankets under the cherry tree so they could watch the petals "fall like snow," and invented imaginary jaunts to Japan as they climbed into a "deep hot bath." Each spread presents one haiku in the Japanese style—a single vertical line without periods. Characterized by sensory images and an atmosphere of fleeting joy, they are bordered on the verso by warm, textured art with the look of papyrus. This also becomes the canvas for Young's charcoal scenes on the recto. At times, the strong figural outlines evoke Mary Cassatt; others are softly blurred, without features, or they emerge from negative space. When the mother is "gone again," reunion seems more tenuous; Yugen communes with his cat while undertaking familiar rituals. Sensitive older readers will respond to his wistful yearning, feeling the pleasure and pain of memory that accompanies love and separation.