Tibet Through the Red Box: Through the Red Box

It has been my privilege to read and re-read this book with some teenagers who have formerly claimed their reluctance to read. Peter Sis gave us all the opportunity to read the pictures first: why the sepia toned photos and the father-shaped holes? Why the mandelas? The maps? The diary entries? Once engaged, and fuelled by the tidal oscillations of the various layers of drawings, composed symphonically, we could not help but read the book. For a generation accustomed to video players this book let us pause, fast-forward, rewind... a book to read forwards, backwards, and inside out. Sis lets us know that books are a treasure, that books can walk beside us for a lifetime and nourish the mind and soul in imaginings... I add this one to my list of 1000 books I would proudly give to any child.

Tibet: Through the Red Box is an entrancing and beautiful book. However, it is one of the new subgenre of "children's books for adults" - it may look like a picture book, but it is *not* suitable for young children. Tibet is very like Maus: A Survivor's Tale, the award-winning graphic novel that bears only superficial resemblance to a standard graphic novel. In Tibet, as in Maus, a son tells his father's story - and what a story it is. Peter Sis' father was a documentary filmmaker who was hired by the Chinese to make a documentary about the building of a bridge in a remote province - and instead ended up losing his crew and witnessing the taking of Tibet. Sis does a remarkable job of transmitting to the reader his father's love of Tibet and its mysteries and magic. Using tales his father told him, he creates an image of a dream land, a fantasy land, where weird and wonderful things happen. It's impossible not to love Sis' vision of Tibet - and therefore, impossible not to be sad that the Chinese take it.I've said that the book is not for children, and I stand by that. However, I do believe that a child who is 6 or older could enjoy this book, provided it was read to him by an adult, and provided that that adult could cushion and explain some of the harder truths, not to mention some of the blending of fantasy and fact. Peter Sis' father's story is incredible, and the book is marvelous. Any adult who loves books or history would love Tibet: Through the Red Box.

"Tibet" is an artistic triumph from Sis, whose illustrations have always been wonderful. This book, however, is a highly personal tale that he seeks to tell, and it is a rather complex and mystical one - for this reason I recommend it more for adults, though there's no harm in reading it to your child if you think it will go over (just don't be surprised if they don't appreciate it as you do.) I say the tale is complex, because the plot has many layers. Sis himself is a child in Cold War Europe, whose father disappears. The father then returns, saying he had been sent to make documentary films in Tibet. His memories are contained in a red box, which Sis does not open until later in life. These memories tell of tales both possible (meeting the Dalai Lama, Chinese takeover of Tibet) and exxaggerated (mythical cities, wild adventures, etc.) The overall tone of the book is not a political one, but a spiritual one. Having taken us through a dazzling series of illustrated mandalas and different colored rooms, Sis concludes that he isn't really sure what went on with his father in Tibet, and whether it was all a mystical dream on the part of his father or on the part of himself. It's difficult to explain all this, but I hope you get the picture as to how sophisticated the book really is. It will merit careful revisiting by adults, and its beautiful, stylized artwork and haunting mysticism will render rich rewards.

It is never too early to educate children in the ways of the world, and "Tibet - Through the Red Box" does so with beauty and compassion. Labeling something as "political" (as if that was automatically a negative) and discarding it for that reason is symptomatic of the thinking that has kept Tibet repressed for so long. When a story is as moving and as beautifully illustrated as this one, it is the perfect vehicle to introduce children to new ideas, and should be held up as a model rather than kept away from the little darlings. I know my children will benefit greatly from reading books that open their minds and expose them to new thoughts and new cultures, and once our children benefit from that intellectual process, we all benefit.

Tibet: Through the Red Box was presented by my son during a weekly book share in a K-1 class. The teacher was fascinated by the book and read it to the class. The children were captivated by the story for days. Many of the students ask to borrow the book. It is a tale of the magical land of Tibet and the travels (described in journal form) of a young man's father. The illustrations are well done and provoke imagination. A wonderful and unique book, it would also make a great gift.