

Series: Caldecott Honor Book
Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (November 5, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0374375526
ISBN-13: 978-0374375522
Product Dimensions: 11 x 0.4 x 11.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #235,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #14 in Books > Teens > Education & Reference > History > Asia #209 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Social & Family Issues > Family > Parents

I once had the great good fortune of seeing Peter Sis speak before a large audience of New York City Public Librarians. Charming, blessed with an uncommon eloquence, and funny as well Sis spoke of his work over the last few decades. From this speech I learned that Sis designed the poster for the movie of "Amadeus", that he was originally from Prague, and that one of his best works was something called, "Tibet: Through the Red Box". I was intrigued, but months passed and I filed away "Tibet" into my To-Be-Read pile of picture books. It was only with my steady reading of every single Caldecott Honor (of which "Tibet" won one in 1999) that I at last came to the book itself. I expected a title that was some sort of early-reader-this-is-what-Tibet-is kind of a thing. I had apparently forgotten that this was the man who brought us that remarkable Charles Darwin biography, "Tree of Life". "Tibet: Through the Red Box" is no mere picture book. It's a personal history and unreliable memory combined into the ultimate tribute to the author's father.In 1994 Peter Sis received a note from his father that said merely, "The Red Box is now yours". Rushing home, Sis found the box in question and opened it to reveal a diary kept by his father of his time in Tibet in the mid-1950s. Sis the elder was a documentary filmmaker, and as such he was sent by the army film unit to China to make and teach filmmaking. The job was supposed to be about the Chinese highway currently being built in the Himalayas that would open Tibet up to the rest of the world. While there, Sis was separated from his project and explored the world of Tibet deeper than (he suspected) any Czech citizen before him. In this book, Peter Sis takes sections from this diary and illustrates them with his signature dotty style.
Tibet Through the Red Box (Caldecott Honor Book) First the Egg (Caldecott Honor Book and Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book (Awards)) Warriors of Tibet: The Story of Aten and the Khampas' Fight for the Freedom of their Country (Wisdom Tibet Book) Tops & Bottoms (Caldecott Honor Book) Zen Shorts (Caldecott Honor Book) Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin (Caldecott Honor Book) Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra (Caldecott Honor Book) The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins (Caldecott Honor Book) Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom (Caldecott Honor Book) Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride (Caldecott Honor Book) The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (Caldecott Honor Book) Bartholomew and the Oobleck: (Caldecott Honor Book) (Classic Seuss) The Gardener (Caldecott Honor Award) My Brother Sam Is Dead (A Newbery Honor Book) (A Newberry Honor Book) By Honor Bound: Two Navy SEALs, the Medal of Honor, and a Story of Extraordinary Courage Tito Puente, Mambo King/Tito Puente, Rey del Mambo (Pura Belpre Honor Books - Illustration Honor) Maria Had a Little Llama / María Tenía Una Llamita (Pura Belpre Honor Books - Illustration Honor) (Spanish Edition) Papa and Me (Pura Belpre Honor Books - Illustration Honor) Honor of the Samurai: The Card Game of Intrigue, Honor, and Shame with Dice and Cards and Other Honor Bound & Two Alone: Honor Bound, Two Alone