My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A grandfather and his grandson who seem to have very little in common, who are worlds apart as it concerns their communication and interests, spend the day together only to find that they both have a love for art, it’s what draws them together. As Dan Santat puts it, the two “learn to communicate through collaboration.” Together they draw, combining old style with the new, creating a world that “even words can’t describe.” Through their passion for drawing, they “see each other for the first time.”
Drawn together is beautiful in text and art. It’s not a wordy story by any means, much like the nature of the relationship between the grandfather and grandson. The vast majority of the story is told in what is not said, it is experienced through Dan Santat’s illustrations. His work is always a treasure and in this case, especially so because collaborating with Minh Lê on this book gave him an “opportunity to work on art inspired by my (his) own Thai heritage” as he explained in his art process video (which you will see posted below).
I borrowed this book from my local public library and have since added it to my list of books to acquire for my K-5 library in the 2019-2020 school year. I brought my borrowed copy to school and showed it to one of my 4th grade teachers. She read it with her class that same day and they loved every bit of it! They were in awe of the art because as it turns out, their project in art class gave them a chance to use a similar style, like what the grandfather created in the story. It always wows us when our students have these opportunities to connect with a book this way. Soon after their read-aloud, their teacher sent a couple of students down to the library and picked up a copy of Beakle and After the Fall; made this librarian’s day!
Dan Santat | The Art Process
Shout-Outs
Minh Lê | http://minhlebooks.com/
Dan Santat | https://www.dantat.com/
Disney Hyperion | https://books.disney.com/
CeCeLibrarian’s Book Blog 
Caramel really liked this book! Please check out his review here: https://bookbunnies.blog/2019/10/30/caramel-reviews-drawn-together-by-minh-le-and-dan-santat/
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It was a beautifully illustrated story and I appreciated the way the grandfather and grandson were able to connect through something they were both passionate about.
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