Ten Cents a Pound wasn't what I had expected, but it is a book I'll be recommending. I appreciate the fact that it offers insight into another way of living (and a way that brings a familiar product to our cupboards!) in a form children should be able to understand. I think there's equal value in the fact that that picture of life is presented in a way that also gives children insight into what parents in every culture do for their children. This is a beautiful book, and a valuable one. Thank you to NetGalley and Second Story Press for a free review copy.

This beautiful book is about the struggle of poverty, and how a mother does everything she can so her child can have a better future. The language is poetic, the illustrations are gorgeous.

The basis for this story is an important message about the reality for many people--parents who work at very difficult jobs to try to give their children more opportunities than they had themselves. However, Ten Cents a Pound falls a bit short of the mark in both the words, which are too stilted to appeal to many children, and the illustrations which don't capture the attention or evoke emotion of the viewer.

The love between a mother and daughter is celebrated in this jaw droppingly gorgeous picture book.

It's set in Vietnam, where the mother works picking coffee beans for 10 cents a pound. This money is used to pay to pay for school books, shoes and to send her daughter away to school so that she has a better life.

The poetry is expressed in two lyrical voices - those of the mother and the daughter. It's through these two voices that we see the love and sacrifice of the mother, and the child's understanding of how hard her mother's life is.

This wish of the mother, for a better life for her daughter, will resonate for all families. Eventually the daughter realizes that living the kind of life her mother envisions for her is the best way she can help her. I love this image of her flying away.

Josée Bisaillon's artwork creates a stunning backdrop to the story at the same time as it reveals the smaller details of the mother's suffering: her stooped back, her calloused and blistered feet and failing eyes.

My only complaint is that the text is small and the book is very short. In spite of this, the book will be an important addition to libraries in part because of the relationship between mother and child, and in what it reveals about the lives of people in other parts of the world.

A short and sweet and gently touching illustrated book with a back and forth conversation between mother and child in a place not directly identified, but which appears to be somewhere in Asia, possibly Vietnam. The illiterate mother is persuading her child to leave her home village to get an education rather than picking coffee for a living. In a few short pages, the author and illustrator manage to say quite a lot about the ties of family and home and also the value of literacy, without being maudlin or preachy.

I read a digital copy via NetGalley.

#netgalley #tencentsapound

“Ten Cents A Pound” is a beautiful story that brought tears to my eyes.

A mother and daughter in the hills of Vietnam talk back and forth about the future. The girl wants to stay near and help her hard-working mother whose body is strained from picking coffee for ten cents a pound. But the loving mother urges her to use that ten cents to go to school and gain a freedom that knowledge can bring to go beyond the village and labor that is all her mother will ever know.

This is so simple but profoundly powerful. How many mothers are there out in the world with just this vision and sacrifice? Many, many thousands. This is an ode to those women who sacrificed and labored long hard years so their children could have a better life. The illustrations are a fitting style for a Southeast Asian setting. A touching and powerful little picture book perfect for cluing kids into the way so many people in the world live, a way to help them understand the privilege and power of going to school, and of course would also make a great Mother's Day read as they ponder all their own mothers have done for them. Definitely purchasing for our elementary library.

Ten Cents a Pound

by Nhung N. Tran-Davies, illustrated by Josée Bisaillon

Second Story Press

Children’s Fiction , Multicultural Interest

Pub Date 18 AprI’ll.2018
I am reviewing a copy of Ten Cents A Pound through Second Story Press and Netgalley:

In this beautifully written and illustrated multicultural picture book, the author and illustrator paint a visual and written picture of a young girl’s passionate conversation with her Mom, in the book every time the girl talks about how hard her Mom works and tells her she wants to stay and help where her Mother points out the importance of getting an education so she can learn and have a good life.

The conversation in this story shows how hard the Mom, works and sacrifices to give her daughter an education and the sacrifices they both have to make so the daughter can be educated. This beautifully written books is a testament of a Mother’s love and a young daughters devotion.

I give Ten Cents a pound five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

In a village, high in the mountains, a mother works hard to provide her daughter with opportunities that she has never had. Her faithful daughter pledges her love and dedication to her mother as she watches her sacrifice and persevere. Her mother states, “Ten cents a pound is what I’ll earn, but the stories you write, though I cannot read, shall be worth more than gold.” Bisaillon uses brilliant collage work to bring this lovely story to life.

Ten Cents a Pound by Nhung N. Tran-Davies is a short, poetic, back-and-forth conversation between a mother and daughter. This is the story of a unnamed young girl whose mother is working hard so that her daughter may have a better life. It tells many stories within the pages that are filled with heart warming illustrations. It is the story of a mother's love, of hope, determination, a child's love and concern for her mother and for the giving of each, so that they may both be safe, and happy.
The book simultaneously draws attention to the difficulties of living with low wages, while optimistically looking forward to the opportunities and possibilities of the future due to education.
The lovely illustrations are both realistic and wistful, and while this story may require some additional explanations for young children, it paints a beautiful picture of determination and potential.

I received a ARC from Second Story Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

I give this book 4/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Second Story Press for this DRC. Ten Cents and a Pound shares the perspectives of a hardworking mother and her young daughter as they talk about the daughter's future. The mother wants more for her daughter than the village can offer her. The daughter recognizes her mother's hard work and the toll it takes on her, so she does not want to leave her. It's a beautiful story about the sacrifices a mother is willing to make for their children, to give them more than they had.

This book was so beautiful and so sad at the same time. The artwork was so beautiful to look at the words of the story touched my heart. The sacrifices the mother is making for her daughter's education is inspiring and it truly shows life in another part of the world. Great for both kids and adults alike.

Ten Cents a Pound is a powerful and touching story of a mother's sacrifice so that her child can be educated. It's an important story that children is first world countries can learn a lot from. It teaches empathy, love, hard work, and greatfulness.

"Ten cents a pound is what I'll earn
To buy these books and set you free"

It's hard not to get chills when you read that. This picture book has a distinct voice and flavor, and the illustrations beautifully immerse you into the main character's world. A lovely read.

Art: It was okay a lot of earthy tones
Story: Stories that push long-suffering of parent who is let behind to rot in poverty = the future is young, inequality works where only small amount of people can get out. I guess it sucks the whole situation.  It is a valuable story to tell but I wish it was not a that had to be told.

Ten Cents a Pound is a beautiful picture book about a mother’s love and aspirations for her daughter. The juxtaposition of the mother’s and daughter’s dialogue makes for a sweet and engaging story. The illustrations are vibrant and perfectly reflect the sentiments in the text. This book can illicit meaningful conversations about hopes, dreams, and familial sacrifices.

Ten Cents a Pound is a gorgeous call-and-answer picture book from author Nhung N. Tran-Davies, about a mother and daughter grappling with their differing desires for the future. Simple text with gorgeous illustrations, the message is sweet and clear: the daughter must make a better life for herself. Ten Cents a Pound emphasizes the dreams that parents have for their children and how sometimes those dreams can be bittersweet. I think this book would be perfect for teachers wanting to teach compare and contrast, while also exposing their students to different ways of life around the world. One thing to note- after reading, this will certainly lead to additional questions and curiosities from students (excellent!), and little background is given as the text is very simple. Be prepared to do some additional reading before or after this one.

I loved this book. After spending time in the Vietmanese highlands with these women I found the depiction very authentic. A beautiful book about sacrifice, hope, loyalty and mother daughter love. I will happily hand sell this title.

This is a heartwarming story of a mother's love for her daughter. The mother is trapped in a life of working hard to pick coffee for ten cents a pound—but she wants more for her daughter. The lovely paintings that illustrate the story show the mother's love as well.
I received a free ecopy of this book from NetGalley and chose to write a review.

Ten Cents a Pound is a beautiful story about a parent’s love for her child and the sacrifices that she will make to see that child achieve successes. It’s also the story of a child who is reluctant to leave the safety and security of her home, of her need to be a good daughter and help her mother who grows old and weary from the physical labour of her work in the mountains to earn ten cents a pound. This incredible story is very moving. Many of us have found successes in our lives because of the care and sacrifice of our parents, none more so then those who have had to leave their homelands and create new homes here in Canada. A tale for every school library shelf so that all of our students can see themselves reflected in the books we share. Also an important book for those who have grown up knowing only privilege to gain some understanding of how other people live, what they have to do and give up in order to gain an education that will allow them to achieve their dreams. Josee Bisaillon’s art in this book is stunning. She clearly captures the reflection of the girl from her mother’s eye and vice versa. The page where the mother is drawn but the eyes are white out to show her deteriorating vision is haunting. The art has such life and contains all the hopes of the future.