Eyes That Kiss in the Corners

by Joanna Ho, Dung Ho (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Breathtakingly illustrated by Dung Ho, Eyes that Kiss in the Corners is Joanna Ho’s love letter to not just Asian children, but all children. Her debut picture book gloriously celebrates individual beauty and confidence and highlights how precious a supportive family can be. A perfect book to read at any age and a piece of art that will be shared for years to come.

A New York Times Bestseller and #1 Indie Bestseller

This lyrical, stunning picture book tells a story about learning to love and celebrate your Asian-shaped eyes, in the spirit of Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, and is a celebration of diversity.

A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers'. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother’s, her grandmother's, and her little sister's. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future.

Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self-love and empowerment. This powerful, poetic picture book will resonate with readers of all ages.

"This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is breathtaking.” —Kirkus (starred review)

“A young girl finds beauty in her uniqueness.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

“A lyrical celebration of her eyes, their shape, spirit, and legacy.”  —Booklist (starred review)

“A poignant testament to familial love and legacy.” —Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062915627
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/05/2021
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,418
Product dimensions:	9.40(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Joanna Ho is passionate about equity in books and education. She has been an English teacher, a dean, and a teacher professional development mastermind. She is currently the vice principal of a high school in the San Francisco Bay Area. Homemade chocolate chip cookies, outdoor adventures, and dance parties with her kids make Joanna’s eyes crinkle into crescent moons. Her books for young readers include Eyes That Kiss in the Corners. Visit her at www.joannahowrites.com and @JoannaHoWrites.

Dung (pronounced Dzung) Ho is a New York Times bestselling illustrator based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Her work focuses on children’s books. She also loves to draw interesting characters with unique personalities. When she’s not drawing, she enjoys cooking, watching movies, walking, and tending to her plants. Visit her at www.behance.net/hanhdung.

Editorial Reviews

12/07/2020

This poetic tale of self-acceptance by author Ho follows a Chinese American girl who recognizes how her eyes—different from peers with “eyes like sapphire lagoons”—evoke those of her mother, grandmother, and younger sister: “eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea.” Mama’s eyes inform the first-person narrator that “I’m a miracle,” while Amah’s eyes “are filled with so many stories,” and Mei-Mei’s eyes gaze “up at me/ like I am her best present.” Warm, dimensional digital spreads by illustrator Ho (the Mindy Kim series) bolster this celebration of heritage with images of peonies, chrysanthemums, dragons, phoenixes, and figures from Chinese mythology, including Chang’e and the Jade Rabbit, Guanyin, and the Monkey King. Readers familiar with Chinese culture will recognize additional touches: Amah wears a jade bracelet, and an upside-down Fú character heralding good fortune is pasted by the family’s front door. A poignant testament to familial love and legacy. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

At the emotional height of the story, the poetic descriptions of her Asian eyes are mythic and affirming, and she appears amid grandiose illustrations of fantastical beasts and landscapes from Chinese culture. In the end, the tale winds down from the mythical back to the personal with a simple family portrait. All that beauty is there in the eyes of her family.

Booklist (starred review)

At the emotional height of the story, the poetic descriptions of her Asian eyes are mythic and affirming, and she appears amid grandiose illustrations of fantastical beasts and landscapes from Chinese culture. In the end, the tale winds down from the mythical back to the personal with a simple family portrait. All that beauty is there in the eyes of her family.” %COMM_CONTRIB%Booklist (starred review)

★ 12/01/2020

K-Gr 3—When she does not share physical traits with those around her, a young girl finds beauty in her uniqueness. One day at school, a young girl of Asian heritage remarks on the shape and color of the eyes of the light- and dark-skinned girls in her class. Instead of having big eyes with long lashes, hers "kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea." At home, the girl celebrates all she shares with her Mama, Amah, and little sister Mei-Mei. Together, these four women view the world through their matching, expressive eyes. Even when she feels apart from her peers at school, the young protagonist finds solace in the shared appearance of her family's eyes. Sweeping, expressive illustrations deeply connect readers to the many dimensions of this story. The featured characters comprise three generations of Asian women; the only male in the book is found in the background of a scene in the schoolyard. Lyrical text propels the story; while relatively limited, each word is carefully chosen to beautifully enhance the message. VERDICT Expertly paired, the text and illustrations amplify each other superbly, in an important addition to every library serving young children and their families.—Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver P.L.

School Library Journal

★ 2020-10-13
A young Chinese American girl sees more than the shape of her eyes.

In this circular tale, the unnamed narrator observes that some peers have “eyes like sapphire lagoons / with lashes like lace trim on ballgowns,” but her eyes are different. She “has eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea.” Author Ho’s lyrical narrative goes on to reveal how the girl’s eyes are like those of other women and girls in her family, expounding on how each pair of eyes looks and what they convey. Mama’s “eyes sparkl[e] like starlight,” telling the narrator, “I’m a miracle. / In those moments when she’s all mine.” Mama’s eyes, the girl observes, take after Amah’s. While she notes that her grandmother’s eyes “don’t work like they used to,” they are able to see “all the way into my heart” and tell her stories. Here, illustrator Ho’s spreads bloom with references to Chinese stories and landscapes. Amah’s eyes are like those of the narrator’s little sister. Mei-Mei’s eyes are filled with hope and with admiration for her sister. Illustrator Ho’s textured cartoons and clever use of light and shadow exude warmth and whimsy that match the evocative text. When the narrator comes to describe her own eyes and acknowledges the power they hold, she is posed against swirling patterns, figures, and swaths of breathtaking landscapes from Chinese culture. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 80.5% of actual size.)

This tale of self-acceptance and respect for one’s roots is breathtaking. (Picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews