Almond’s fans will willingly follow him on yet another journey into a surreal, murky world that may be dream or reality. Three orphans, labeled "damaged children" by their well-meaning custodian, seek freedom by sailing down the river on a raft fashioned emblematically from three doors. When they run aground in the silt of Black Middens, a mysterious, web-fingered child, Heaven Eyes, and the threatening man she calls Grampa rescue them. Grampa and Heaven Eyes live a reclusive life in the rubble of an abandoned print works. Almond sets this scene well: "The walls and ceilings creaked and groaned. Dust seethed all around . . . Shadows shifted . . . Dangling doors led into pitch-black rooms . . ." Grampa enigmatically keeps a secret journal, patrols against "ghosts," and digs in the river mud for treasure and Saints. In one of his quests, years earlier, Grampa pulled the tiny Heaven Eyes from the mud and has raised and protected her in isolation. Heaven Eyes, who speaks a distinct, beautiful, childlike dialect has the ability to "see through all the darkness in the world to the joy that lies beneath." Mysteries abound: who is Grampa? what are the ghosts? who is the "Saint"? and what is Heaven Eye's backstory? Almond chooses to answer only some. The story teems with symbols: darkness and light, angels and wings, birth and death, and the river that flows throughout. The circular journey works well as the three orphans with Heaven Eyes return to Whitegates Children's Home, changed and with greater self-knowledge. Some may quibble with a conclusion, in which one orphan's mother makes a dramatic reappearance, but Almond is essentially an idealist and readers will be satisfied. Not as elaborately layered as Kit's Wilderness (2000), the winner of the 2001 Printz Award, but brilliant in its technical control of setting, theme, and plot. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 10, 2001
ISBN: 0-385-32770-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2001
Fans of Cameron’s Huey and Julian stories (More Stories Huey Tells, 1997, etc.) are in for a treat as Gloria, their friend from those tales, gets a book of her own and graciously allows the two brothers to share it . In the first tale, Gloria makes a wonderful card for her mother, but the wind blows it away and it ends up in the cage of a cantankerous parrot. Thanks to Mr. Bates, Huey and Julian’s dad, the day is saved, as is the burgeoning friendship that Gloria and the boys have struck up with new neighbor Latisha in the story, “The Promise.” In another story, Gloria has to deal with a huge problem—fractions—and this time it’s her dad who helps her through it. Mr. Bates proves helpful again when the group trains an “obsessed” puppy, while Gloria’s mother is supportive when Gloria is unintentionally hurt by her three best friends. The stories are warm and funny, as Gloria, a spunky kid who gets into some strange predicaments, finds out that her friends and wise, loving adults are good to have around when trouble beckons. Great fun, with subtly placed, positive messages that never take center stage. (b&w illustrations) (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: March 9, 2000
ISBN: 0-374-32670-3
Page Count: 93
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
There is something profoundly elemental going on in Smalls’s book: the capturing of a moment of unmediated joy. It’s not melodramatic, but just a Saturday in which an African-American father and son immerse themselves in each other’s company when the woman of the house is away. Putting first things first, they tidy up the house, with an unheralded sense of purpose motivating their actions: “Then we clean, clean, clean the windows,/wipe, wipe, wash them right./My dad shines in the windows’ light.” When their work is done, they head for the park for some batting practice, then to the movies where the boy gets to choose between films. After a snack, they work their way homeward, racing each other, doing a dance step or two, then “Dad takes my hand and slows down./I understand, and we slow down./It’s a long, long walk./We have a quiet talk and smile.” Smalls treats the material without pretense, leaving it guileless and thus accessible to readers. Hays’s artwork is wistful and idyllic, just as this day is for one small boy. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-316-79899-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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