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One Day with Piraye is a subtle picture book about a girl who tries to understand why a donkey, named Kapuska, is braying outside her window in the middle of the night. The story starts with a depiction of Piraye in her house looking out at the donkey loosely tied to a semi-transparent poplar tree which appears to be floating in deep space. The full moon highlights the donkey’s saddle, which turns out to be an elegant piece of foreshadowing. The story demonstrates Piraye’s abilities of pensive observation, empathy, and problem-solving in her communication with the donkey and her negotiation with a shepherd as she ultimately saves the donkey by taking out a hidden thorn that is stuck under its saddle. The story ends as it started, with a full moon, but this time shining on in peaceful silence. Awarded as picture book of the year by IBBY Turkey, the book has a tranquil atmosphere created by wide plain surfaces and a reduced palette of turquoise, blue, beige set against the magenta saddle. Illustrator Üçbaşaran makes good use of the end papers and of minimized, lightly-drawn ornaments that harken back to miniature paintings in depicting the sun and the trees. The illustrations present an infinite space linked with indoor and outdoor space, supporting a lyrical mood. Amusingly, the writer embeds unusual vocabulary in naming the donkey after a dish made out of cabbage, Kapuska, into the story (it is also the donkey’s favorite food). The book can be considered a fresh contemplation of cultural heritage.

Arslan Sayman Piraye’nin Bir Günü
(One Day with Piraye)
Illustrated by Deniz Üçbaşaran
Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Publications, 2013
36 pp. ISBN 978-975-08-2538-5
(Picture book, ages 4+) [End Page 62]

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