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When Flash’s plane crashes in the wilderness, he finds himself injured and alone, armed with nothing but a cheap instant camera. Then out of the sunlight appears a girl in a scarlet dress. Sutira and her brother take Flash home to their remote village, where the people have never met a photographer–or seen a photo. Flash has ten pictures left, but what should he take a picture of? The most beautiful girl in the village? An irreplaceable piece of art? A cow? Flash has always known the magic of photography, but not until he takes those last ten pictures does he realize just what wonders can be worked with light, love, and a camera.
From the Hardcover edition.
Gentle story of survival and change. I loved the book. I thought the lesson or big idea in the book was great. I used this book in my 4th & 5th grade literature groups. Although, they could read the book they had a difficult time grasping the big idea. They didn’t seem to enjoy it as much as I did. So maybe it would be more appropriate for higher level students.
This book is about a man (NOT a boy, as one reviewer states) who survives a plane crash in a remote village. He finds a tribe of people who speak English, yet do not know what cameras or photographs are. In each chapter he decides what photograph to take (he has 10 left on his poloroid). The characters are flat, there is no conflict to move the story forward, and the ending is just too easy. Not until the final photo is taken does the man remember he has a family back in London. Then, conveniently enough, a helicopter appears, litteraly a Deus ex Machina, to save him. Then the author tries to make things fun by suggesting the whole tale has taken place in his imagination.
Geraldine McCaughrean’s SMILE! tells of a boy who survives a plane crash in the wilderness to find himself alone with only a camera. His visit to a remote village, where people have never met a photographer or seen a photo, changes not only his life, but those he encounters in this gentle story of survival and change.