Underground Garden by Cho Sunkyung

Underground Garden
By Cho Sunkyung (Jo Seonkyeong)
Complex Chinese translation copyright 2006 by Taosheng Publishing House
Published by arrangement with Borim Press, 2005
Hardcover; 32 pages
Preschool
Author's Website: http://www.siillustration.com/bbs/view.php?id=instructors&page=1&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=subject&desc=asc&no=9&PHPSESSID=406d69a5d04248d0e3284ed9091ff1f1
ISBN 9867460650

Some cities stink. Literally. This book is about a subway worker who cleans and lives in the stench filled subway and decides to confront the stink. So, he plants an underground garden. The flowery scent replaces the city stink and soon drifts above through the subway grates where passing noses notice the fragrance. It soon fills the entire city with a flowery smell.

The illustrations in this book have a reserved emotional quality that communicate the tone of this picture book. The illustrations are so effective that it really doesn't matter what language tells the story. The success has led to the book's publication in six different languages. This adaptability to accept a wordless narrative encourages young readers to create their own narrative and reflect more on the content than a story that is not illustrated as clearly.

The expressions of the subway worker's face, content with his garden or discontent with the smelly city, shows a deep feeling that surpasses comic or animated caricatures. This is another positive point for this book. Picture book illustrations sometimes gets replaced with easy and simpler pictures that do not hold as much emotional content. Usually, this is done out of a concern appropriateness for children. I do not see this pictorial quality as too mature. I think that it is very important for children to see real human emotions and how those are healthily expressed. Some picture books have too many caricatures and over simplify things.

Importantly, the somber quality within the illustrations add to the meaning of this book. Nature is a necessity for human health. Plants do not only add fragrance but important O2. This can be mentioned to older children in this age group. The expressions of people's disgust in the pre-garden subway clearly contrasts with the expressions of people enjoying the garden and the child playing in the trees and lawn.

(Incidently, I was walking in the park and wanted to have Stanley experience crawling in the lawn. This brought many reflections of my own childhood experiences with nature to mind... until I looked around and noticed no other children in the grass and some inquisitive gazes. Nature (i.e. the park) is experienced differently here. It's not a tactile place. Children walk or are pushed around the park. Dogs do their business in the grass. It might be the same in the U.S. I just did not notice this. Anyway, Stanley did not get the envisioned experience. It will have to wait until we visit my parents. Until then, we will work on appreciating nature in different ways).

This book stands as evidence of a truly skilled and incredible illustrator and artist who knows how direct his gift in the right direction.