Tibet

by Peter Sis

book summary and critical reaction author/illustrator study classroom connections list of related books webquest  links

1999 Caldecott Award

    This story is set simultaneously in Tibet and in Czechoslavakia in the study of Peter Sis' father.  In the book, Peter Sis serves as the narrarator.  He returns home to examine his father's red box which had been off limits to him before this time.  As Peter goes through the diary and the other artifacts in the red box, he pieces together the time that his father spent in Tibet away from his family.  Meanwhile in the story, Peter Sis reflects upon the memories he had as a child before during and after his father's absence.  Reader's discover the fantastical nature that the stories told by Peter's father took on to Peter as a child.  The experience of going through the diary refresh Peter's old memories and beliefs about his father's journey even as Peter discovers the truth that the diary has to offer.  As if that were not enough during the story, Peter begins to (in a strange manner) take on the role of his father as he reads the diary, experiencing what he believes his father experienced.
     Although the length of the book and the authentic handwritten writing in the book, make this more suitable for older students, the book does contain some interesting aspects.  Firstly, the book has a lot of interesting tidbits of information written on the side dealing with things in the book.  Also, many of the illustrations are symmetrical in a way that you would really have to view for yourself.  Another really good aspect of the illustrations is the way that the images in the book are used over and over again in an altered form.  Illustrations that occur early in the book are seen again with different images transposed on top of the old picture.
     The last interesting thing to speak of is the authenticity the book seems to have.  Though many of the things in the book are somewhat fantastical, pieces of the diary are plastered throughout the book.  The pages and writing in the diary can be seen throughout the book, giving the audience a sense of what the diary would look like.  This authentic feel is kept even as the author speaks of things which are fantastical.  Bottom line, this is a very new and interesting book but it is also a little bit trippy.

These ideas are general and would have to be refined to suit the grade level and the particular students:
 

Communication Arts -- Make your own red box and put in items from your family that you could use to tell a story about your
family.  Describe the items and tell why you chose them.

Geography --Make a map showing Peter's father's trip.  Show the continents that he traveled from and to, the three countries in
which the story takes place, and the methods of travel he used (cut-outs of planes, trains, cars, people walking, etc.)

Technology & Research -- Think of a question that you might like to ask Peter's father about his adventure.  Go to a search
engine on the Internet and see if you can find a good answer; share the website and your answer.

Discussion -- 1. Discuss how you would feel if one of your family members were away for a long period of time, especially during
a holiday.   2. Discuss the illustrations and the different story styles.  How has the author used the illustrations to help tell the story?

Creative Dramatics – Take one of the fables told in the book and write a play about it. Then perform the play for the rest of the
class.

Social Studies -- Make a dictionary using the foreign words you find in the book.  Explain what the word represents in its
culture.    2.  What does the story tell about different types of government in the three countries?  Compare and contrast.

Math -- Using Tanagrams, make representations of 3 different things that you thought were interesting in the story.  They can be
people, animals, objects, geographical features, or any other items from the story.

Other Books by Peter Sis:
             Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei
          The Three Golden Keys
          Follow the Dream
          Komodo

Books Illustrated by Peter Sis:
          The Dragons are Singing Tonight
          Monday's Troll
          Rumpelstiltskin

Children's Books about Tibet:
          Our Journey from Tibet  by Laurie Dolphin
          Magic & Mystery in Tibet  by Alexandra David-Neel
          Tibet  by Kazuyoshi Nomachi
          The Snow Leopard  by Peter Matthiessen
          Buddha  by Demi

Tibetan Folklore:
          Tales of the Yeti  by Kesar Lall
          Beauty of High Hills: Tales of the Turquoise by Barbara Bingley
          Gessar Khan: A Legend of Tibet   retold by Ida Zeitlen
          Tibetan Tales: Stories from the Dsangs Blun (The Wise & the Foolish)  translated by Antoinette K. Gordon
          Lore & Legend of the Yeti by Kesar Lall

www.skepdic.com/bigfoot.html
www.visitnepal.com/nepalinfo/yeti.htm

www.cactusventures.com/saswatch.htm
www.pibburns.com/cryptozo.htm

www.italysoft.com/curios/yeti.htm
www.netcomuk.co.uk/~rfthomas/bigfoot.html

Address at least these four points in your article:

· How can you explain accounts of this creature occurring in many different cultures across the world?
· List some of the common characteristics of the creature found on the websites.
· List some of the differing characteristics of the creature found on the websites.
· Use a quote from one of the experts on the websites to support your opinion about the existence of the creature.

Chinese invasion of Tibet
Gather information from the following websites.

www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white1.html
www.savetibet.org/background/history2.html

Creation Tales
Creation Tales are a part of every culture.  Research some of the various creation tales of the world on these websites:

www.wapiti.pvs.k12.nm.us/~Computer/create.htm
www.indians.org/welker/legend.htm

www.ozemail.com.au/~reed/global/baiame.htm
www.users.iol.it/osorio/creation1.htm

www.web.utk.edu/~estes/creation.html

Picasso’s Color Periods
Some of the pictures in this book used a color to express a mood or feeling.  The artist Picasso is known for two periods know as
the blue and the rose period.  It is said these colors expressed the mood and circumstances of his life at that time.  Explore more
about Picasso’s color periods on these websites:

www.tamu.edu/mocl/picasso/wpic/wblue.html

www.artforkids.about.com/kids/artforkids/msubpicasso.htm?once=true&

• Tibet: Through the Reb Box Website http://www.petersistibet.com/
• Peter Sis Biography http://www.petersistibet.com/petersisbio.htm
• Interview with Peter Sis http://www.zuzu.org/sisinterview.html
• Boston Globe&endash;Horn Book Award Special Citation Acceptance Speech http://www.hbook.com/bghb_special.shtml