Review - Golden Threads

Golden Threads
by Suzanne Del Rizzo
illustrated by Miki Sato
Date: 2020
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

When a storm sweeps Emi’s beloved stuffed fox away from their mountain home, he ends up tattered and alone on a distant shore. A kind old man finds the fox and gives it to his granddaughter, Kiko. As she recovers from an injury of her own, Kiko mends the fox lovingly with golden thread.

As the seasons pass, Kiko cares for the fox as her own. But after discovering his origins, she sets out, with her grandfather’s help, to bring the fox back to its original home. Once together, Emi and Kiko piece together the fox’s journey and find delight in their newly forged connections.

Golden Threads is inspired by the Japanese art form of kintsugi, or golden joinery, where broken pottery is repaired with resin painted gold. Kintsugi values repairing, rather than replacing, believing that the cracks give the broken item its story. This book is also a warm celebration of wabi-sabi, the Japanese idea that there is beauty in things that may be incomplete or imperfect.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

If you can read Golden Threads without getting a little choked up, you might have a heart of stone. This is a sweet story about friendship, being lost and then found again, and above all else, healing.

A little stuffed fox tells his story to the reader of the day he was taken from his little girl, Emi, by a storm. On the far side of a lake, a grandfather finds the battered toy and takes him home to Kiko, who's dealing with her own injury. The fox worries that Emi won't want him in his current state. Kiko understands, and sets about making repairs, using golden thread to stitch up all of his tears and wounds. Kiko also knows that someone is bound to be looking for the special little fox, and months later, she and her grandfather set out to find his true home.

The story is lovely enough, but the illustrations are really special. They look like paper and fabric collage, which is perfect for showing the little fox's broken and healed states.

I really enjoyed this one. I'd recommend it to readers looking for books about beloved toys, and those who enjoy books like The Velveteen Rabbit or The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.

Thank you to NetGalley and Owlkids Books for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 5/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.5 out of 5