From the Publisher
In Japan around 1900, Michi is apprenticed to the stern kimono-maker, Mistress Shinyo. She works hard and skillfully and soon becomes an unwanted role model for the less-talented apprentices. Then an important commission comes in, and Michi is assigned the task of sewing a kimono of pure white silk. That night, the other apprentices steal all of Michi's thread except for the red.Appalled and fearful, Michi sets to work, sewing each stitch so carefully that the red thread cannot be seen from the outside. When the noblewoman calls for her kimono, she is delighted. Mistress Shinyo, shaken by the near-disaster, is only dissuaded from punishing the other apprentices by Michi's plea for leniency. Based on a true incident from the life of the author's great-grandmother-in-law and with sensuously delicate watercolor illustrations, this tale of obedience and rectitude will appeal to the multicultural/education market as well as to parents, especially those who appreciate high-quality didactic works of children's literature.
About the Author:
Andy William Frew has a wide range of experience in the field of childhood education. He has taught in the Detroit and East Providence (RI) public school systems, in Swan's Island (ME), and on the tiny MA island of Cuttyhunk. He has also been a mental health worker and research assistant at a psychiatric hospital, and currently teaches at the private Community Preparatory School in Providence. His wife of many years is of Japanese descent, and he maintains a close relationship with his Japanese mother-in-law, giving him considerable insight and sensitivity into Japanese culture. He is the compiler of a delightfully eccentric book of days, Frew's Daily Archive. The Invisible Seam is his first children's book.
About the Illustrator:
Jun Matsuoka was born in Yokahama and received much of her early education in the United Arab emirates, where she began painting under the tutelage of a Scottish art teacher. After receiving her degree in Fine Arts at York University, Toronto (where she also painted signs and murals), she returned to Japan, where she has worked in advertising and photo retouching while pursuing her profession as a painter of exquisite watercolors. Her work has been the subject of small exhibitions and has appeared in European magazines. The Invisible Seam is her first book.
Publishers Weekly
Modeling his text on a childhood incident involving his wife's Japanese great-grandmother, debut children's author Frew brings a folktale-like simplicity to a story about conflict and truth-telling. Michi, an orphan in pre-modern Japan, arrives as an apprentice at the house of elderly Mistress Shinyo, a seamstress whose hands have grown too stiff and crooked to sew the kimonos for which she earned fame. Michi immediately shows a talent for tiny, even stitching, and the other three apprentices grow wild with jealousy. Behaving with saintly patience, Michi refuses to expose the girls when they steal her supplies and leave her with nothing but red thread to sew up a white silk kimono. Unexpectedly, the customer is delighted: "How clever, Mistress Shinyo. Inside, the red thread challenges me to find a flaw in the stitching. Outside, even the seams are invisible." Still, Michi will not expose her tormentors. "I am deeply ashamed," is all she says to Mistress Shinyo. "I have treated my teacher badly. She should punish me." The apprentices finally confess, but not before readers learn a lesson about the victory of hard work over revenge. First-time illustrator Matsuoka's watercolors linger over the wood and screens of the traditional Japanese house, to some extent offsetting the inconsistent depictions of the characters from page to page. Her best work comes with night scenes, when faces are illuminated by lantern-light, and the shadows are sharp and dark-visual echoes of the good and evil deeds in the story. Ages 6-10. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Rosa Roberts
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Children's Literature
This beautifully illustrated watercolor Japanese tale is based on a true incident. Michi, a young girl, must leave her home after a volcano knocks down her home and breaks her aunt's leg is broken. Since she can not work or provide food, the aunt takes her to work as an apprentice for a seamstress, Mistress Shinyo. While there, she meets three other girls who are not as talented or motivated to sew kimonos. Michi has a good work ethic, values, and talent. She thrives under the guidance of Mistress Shinyo. There comes a day when Mistress Shinyo is selected to sew a white kimono for a powerful lord's wife. The other apprentices seek revenge by leaving Michi only red thread for the white garment, but she proves to herself, the mistress, and to the lord's wife that her stitching is flawless. This book shows the good character of Michi. Despite the jealousy of the other girls, she forgives them and creates a kimono that shows the quality of her sewing skills. This picture book has extended text on each page. It might be difficult for a child of six to seven year olds to read independently; it would be better suited as a read aloud. 2003, Moon Mountain Publishing, Ages 6 to 10.
Library Journal
Gr 2-4-After their home is destroyed by a volcano, Michi must leave her aunt to work for a seamstress, Mistress Shinyo. There, she joins three other girls who have little talent with a needle and even less ambition. However, Michi is a natural, and the better she does the more jealous and angry the other apprentices become. When Mistress Shinyo is chosen to make a beautiful white kimono for a visiting noble, Michi has a chance to help the woman increase her business. However, when she sets to work on the garment, she finds that her peers have taken all of her white thread, leaving only red. By following the advice of her aunt to always do the right thing, Michi manages to sew a kimono that pleases the customer, and also finds a way to appease the other apprentices. This gentle story paints an interesting and realistic picture of early-20th-century Japan. The plot is compelling enough to move readers through the lengthy text, though at times the narrative feels a bit contrived. Matsuoka's watercolors are a perfect match to the text. Through her spare paintings, the artist shows the individual characters and evokes the setting.-Tali Balas, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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