Book Review: ON MY WAY TO BUY EGGS

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chen, Chih-Yuan. 2003. ON MY WAY TO BUY EGGS. La Jolla, CA: Kane/Miller. ISBN 1929132492

B. PLOT SUMMARY
Shau-yu wants to play outside but his father asks her to buy eggs for dinner on the day which her mom is not at home. She is so happy to be a helper that she can have her adventure on the way to buy eggs. She plays with her shadow, teases with a street dog, looks the neighborhood through a lost blue marble ball, and steps on the falling leaves. Finally, she finds and wears a pair of lost adult glasses which makes her look and act like an adult with more confident to buy eggs.

C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Like Chen notes on the epilog: “even though times have changed, there are some things remain the same,” helping a mother to buy materials for a meal is a very common experience for every child in Taiwan. Chen always reflects his personal or his friend’s life experience in stories. The idea of this book comes from observing a little girl carrying a bag of eggs through his window one day. Because ON MY WAY TO BUY EGGS is related people’s daily life, it also connects some cultural markers in Taiwan. For example, in this story, people use bamboo poles to hang their clothes and use red-white striped plastic bags for carrying grocery, such as eggs. They live in apartments with cages on windows and the settings of grocery stores. Children have fun with shadow and a marble ball which are most people’s memory in their childhood.

Chen also is good at depicting children’s portraits, characters and behaviors by language and drawing. The joys of children see neighbors and friends in the story or have fun on the way to buy things. They yearn to be adults and pretend acting like adults by wearing a tiny adult’s stuff, such as a pair of glasses.

Unlike most children’s books, instead of using bright colors and fancy drawing skills in this book, Chen uses dark colors throughout the story and delicate shades to extend the vision of the picture and show the speed of Shau-yu’s run. It plainly and truly presents the story just as our every day life.

D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Publishers Weekly: “In the age of malls and Wal-Marts, a Taiwanese girl's blithesome errand feels like a joyful celebration of childhood. Young Shau-yu relishes in the simple pleasures of her walk...After a series of these small, gem-like moments, Shau-yu returns with the eggs her smiling father has requested, telling him, "Hello! I've had such a busy day." Chen's streamlined, blocky style keeps the focus on the human interactions and emotions, rather than the setting. With gentle humor, this timeless tale demonstrates how children largely live in - and appreciate - the moment.”

School Library Journal: “This universal tribute to the power of a child's imagination will strike a familiar chord with dreamers everywhere.”

Newsweek: “This is a country of immigrants, yet most of the best-known fairy tales hail from midieval Europe. That may change with the help of newly translated books from Asia. Among the best to hit bookstores this fall is On My Way to Buy Eggs...The striking illustrations that combine collage and line drawings are reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats.”

The Washington Post: “...a treasure of a picture book...”

E. CONNECTIONS
About the author
Chih-Yuan Chen was born in 1975, grew up in an urban county of southern Taiwan. He lives and works in Taiwan and has loved drawing and painting since he was a child. “想念”—“Missing a person” is his first award book which is a wordless picture book; however, it is not printed in the United States. Chen is a famous young author and illustrator of children’s picture books in Taiwan and three-time winner of the prestigious Hsin Yi Picture Book Award.

Other books by Chih-Yuan Chen
Chen, Chih-Yuan. 2004. GUJI GUJI. La Jolla, CA: Kane/Miller. ISBN 1929132492
Chen, Chih-Yuan. 2006. FEATHERLESS CHICKEN. Alhambra, CA: Heryin Books Inc. Kane/Miller. ISBN 0976205696
Chen, Chih-Yuan. 2006. THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER. Alhambra, CA: Heryin Books Inc. ISBN 0976205629