MY STRANGE SHRINKING PARENTS

A symbolic manifestation of a very real sacrifice.

Muted colors and stunning, intricately textured illustrations set a solemn tone as the narrator’s Chinese immigrant parents are introduced. The unnamed narrator explains that “all children believe their parents to be strange,” yet he insists that his are “more unusual than most.” His parents’ love is unquestionable; both do “their best to hold [him] safely above the daily troubles they faced.” For his third birthday, his parents barter with the local baker; the narrator reveals that the price for a beautiful cake is two inches from both parents’ height. The same price is paid year after year for the narrator’s tuition, school uniforms, and supplies, causing the parents to continually shrink as their child inversely grows. The narrator examines both the charms of being smaller (“there was more room for dancing in the kitchen”) and the heartaches—condescension from others and his own resentment for the discrimination they all face for being different. The boy, now a man, cares for his tiny aging parents, making sure they live in comfort in a dollhouse. This deceptively simple tale is laced with profound, beautifully wrought truths. As a parent himself, the narrator offers a tender reflection on his mother and father: “Though our lives may be humble / we are giants within.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A clever and poignant tribute to the love of all those who made the journey.