MAKERS

Boat makers with very different approaches struggle alone but find success when they work together.

Two young apprentices, Van and Minh, live in a town by the coast. Van loves to experiment with new approaches, while Minh wants things to be perfect. They both “[dream] of sailing across the sea together,” but upon graduating from their apprenticeships, they open separate shops on the opposite sides of town. Before they part, Van gifts Minh a golden chisel, and Minh gives Van a golden hammer. As the years pass, the young men toil fruitlessly. Van creates boat after boat with outlandish ideas that don’t quite work—one has “the wrong size balloon,” while another has “too many umbrellas.” Meanwhile, Minh doesn’t make any boats at all, though he talks about “finding the perfect tools” and “almost” finishing a boat. It’s not until they join their golden tools together that they finally build their dream boat. Much of Vo’s storytelling happens in the varied visual compositions, with just enough text on each page to push the plot along. Saturated pastel hues convey the island feel, while cartoony yet expressive characters bring to life a story about the challenges and rewards of creating art. Though the various objects and visual motifs appear to be symbolic, deciphering their meanings may take more patience than most young readers possess. Van and Minh are brown-skinned; other characters are diverse in skin tone.

A charming allegory about the creative process, albeit with some enigmatic details.