Drawn Together, by Minh Lê, Illustrations by Dan Santat

Lê, M., & Santat, D. (2018). Drawn together. Disney-Hyperion. 

    This picture book is a heartfelt own-voices story about bridging generational divides and finding common ground. Drawn Together, by Minh Lê, uses very few words to tell the story of an American boy who only speaks English, and his Vietnamese grandfather, who only speaks Vietnamese. Though there are significant generational, cultural, and language divides between the pair, they find common ground by expressing themselves through creating art, and learn a little something about each other in the process. 

The book uses art quite effectively, as it is a book of very few words. The majority of the story is told through visual art rather than text, to the point where the text supplements the art rather than the other way around. What little text there is in the book is used very effectively, and in some ways, the minimal amount of text is beneficial to telling the story. Somewhat ironically, The grandfather and grandson’s lack of ability to communicate at the beginning of the story is expressed mostly through pictures with no or very few words, while later in the book, once they begin to communicate through art, the words appear much more frequently and in higher volume. This is a very effective way to tell the story of a grandfather and grandson’s evolving ways to relate to each other. 

The pictures are well suited to the mood of the story, and many details throughout reflect the deep divide between the pair. For example, while the grandfather eats what appears to be ramen noodles for their shared meal, the grandson eats a hotdog and fries. When the pair begins to draw, the grandfather has a dedicated sketch book and uses a paintbrush and ink, while the grandson uses spare printer paper and marker. The story is largely told from the point of view of the grandson, and the art he creates bears more similarity to the art used to depict the grandson and grandfather than the art the grandfather creates does. The art in the book, as well as the art within the art in the book, perfectly reflects the story being told. 

For most of the book, color is used in the Grandson’s illustrations, and not used in the grandfather’s art. It’s only later in the book, when the pair switch mediums, that the Grandson’s drawings drains of color and the grandfather’s art lights up with it. This is an immensely effective way to show that they are beginning to understand each other and the ways that they communicate are developing. Though by the end of the book, there is still a significant divide in generation, culture, and language, this sweet story marks the beginning of a wonderful journey of communication and mutual understanding.