When Spring Comes to the DMZ

A picture book about the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea? Despite its unusual setting, When Spring Comes to the DMZ has the makings of a classic. Originally published in 2010 as part of the Peace Picture Book Project, this book by award-winning Korean author/illustrator Uk-Bae Lee has recently been translated into English. Each season, Grandfather climbs to the DMZ observatory and looks through binoculars at the homeland he can no longer visit. Salmon swim under the barbed wire fence, while birds migrate over it, free of the restrictions that bind their human counterparts. Beautiful watercolor and pencil art in a style based on traditional Korean techniques illustrates the lush wildlife that flourishes with the absence of human habitation, even amid rusted military equipment and the ever-present barbed wire fences. This poignant picture book ends on a hopeful note as Grandfather imagines reuniting with his family in North Korea one day. (Ages 2 to 5)