Anya lives in a paper village, among delicate paper trees and paper houses, where the people are paper-light. Every year the villagers of Paperlee put stones in their pockets to avoid being blown away by the late summer winds.
The windy season has long past when Anya is knocked over by a great gust. What is causing the strange weather? Is it coming from Forestlee, the village on the neighbouring mountain?
Determined Anya has a plan to find out, making a delicate kirigami paper bridge to cross the chasm between the two villages. But what will she find on the other side?
Told through stunning, beautifully crafted kirigami scenes, Seng Soun Ratanavanh created a real paper world for debut author Joëlle Veyrenc’s wonderfully imagined story. Readers will be enchanted by constructed 3D houses, folded foliage and illustrated characters. The Paper Bridge is a unique modern fairy tale which explores distrust of the unknown and the challenge of living together through climate change.
Translated by Katy Lockwood-Holmes.