THE RED TIN BOX
By: Matthew Burgess
Illustrated by: Evan Turk
Published: April 4, 2023
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Fiction
The bond between a grandmother and a granddaughter can be very special. When Maude was eight, she made a promise to herself that only the trees and the geese in the sky would hear. She buried a red tin box of some of her favorite treasures under her special dogwood tree. Then, Maude grew up, graduated high school, and became a mom and eventually a grandma.
One day, Maude picked up her granddaughter, Eve, from school for a very special adventure. Maude and Eve found the spot under the special dogwood and started digging until they heard a clink. Maude and Eve opened the red tin box together and looked through the treasures left behind years ago.
I can’t say which is more amazing, the lyrical intergenerational story of a grandmother and granddaughter or the illustrations. Every single page of illustrations is frame-worthy from the trees and landscapes to the sunrises. This special moment between a grandmother and a granddaughter offers an opportunity to share stories and memories of the past as well as the present. This book would make an excellent gift for a new grandma or a special way to share the news of a new baby with family. Gifting this to a grandchild with your own red tin box of trinkets would also make for a wonderful gift. This treasure of a story is one to last for generations.
Matthew Burgess is an assistant professor at Brooklyn College and a poet-in-residence in New York City schools through the Teachers & Writers Collaborative. His award-winning first children’s book, Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings, was a Junior Library Guild selection and an ALA Notable Children’s Book. He is also the author of The Bear and the Moon. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Check out his website, HERE.
Evan Turk is an award-winning illustrator, author, and animator living in Riverside, California, with his husband, Chris, and two cats, Pica and Bert. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune, as well as on NPR. A graduate of Parsons School of Design, his illustration and animation have been shown all over the world, including at the Society of Illustrators, ArtsWestchester, Mystic Seaport Museum, and the Petit Palais. He grew up in Colorado and loves nature and being outdoors. He continues his studies with Dalvero Academy, a private illustration school in New York City. Evan loves to travel and learn about other people and places through drawing and the interactions that come from it. Check out his website, HERE.
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Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to make a purchase through the above links, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.
Posted Under Book Review, Children's books, Evan Turk, fiction, grandparenting, grief, Matthew Burgess