Who hasn't felt cranky and uninspired by dinner? Who hasn't pushed peas aside and poked dully at meat only to be sent to bed? We have each been the little girl of Hyewon Yum's
Last Night, and we have each walked in defeat to our rooms and sought comfort in our stuffed animals. But after this little girl kisses her teddy bear good night, she is awakened to her dreams. The bear brings her into a nocturnal land of joyful dancing, hide-and-seek, and a warm campfire. A satisfying slumber restores her to well-being, and by morning she is ready to give her mother a deeply felt hug. Yum tells the story in images alone, and her richly textured linocuts capture all the range of human feelings and gestures. From the mother's frustrated and impatient stance, to the little girl's angry non-eating and dejected march up the stairs, to the teddy bear's wide-eyed anticipation, and finally, to the little girl's full-body euphoria and genuine love for her mother. The illustrations invite repeated viewing, and perceptive readers will appreciate the clever use of shadows to amplify the emotional content as well as to make visible the intersection of imaginary and everyday worlds.
I've heard from a reader that
The Story about Ping is, odd as it sounds to me, a favorite gift to adoptive parents of Chinese girls. I think that there are many more appropriate alternatives, among them,
Last Night.
Hyewon Yum
Last Night
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2008
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