In The Paper Boat, Thao's collage art tells the wordless story of one family's escape from Vietnam — a journey intertwined with an ant colony's parallel narrative.

At her home in Vietnam, a girl rescues ants from the sugar water set out to trap them. Later, when the girl's family flees war-torn Vietnam, ants lead them through the moonlit jungle to the boat that will take them to safety. Before boarding, the girl folds a paper boat from a bun wrapper and drops it into the water, and the ants climb on.

Their perilous journey, besieged by punishing weather, predatory birds, and dehydration, before reaching a new beginning, mirrors the family's own. Impressionistic collages and a moving, Own Voices narrative make this a one-of-a-kind tale of courage, resilience, and hope. (From OwlKids)

Thao Lam is an author and illustrator from Toronto. Her picture books include Wallpaper and ​My Cat Looks Like My Dad.