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THE MATS

Name: THE MATS
Author: Francisco Arcellana
ISBN: 0-916291-86-3

by Francisco Arcellana ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999

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Matching a text first published over 60 years ago (and adapted here) with vibrant new illustrations, this brief import from the Philippines offers a moving tale of one family’s memorial to their lost ones. Marcelina and her six brothers and sisters welcome their father home from a business trip. As promised, he brings gifts: hand-woven sleeping mats “for every one of the family.” After the living receive theirs, three mats remain, one for each of the siblings who died young. Alägrä’s art is done in a muralistic style, with simple, monumental forms, stylized facial features, and bright, boldly contrasting colors. The language is sometimes awkward—“Papa’s face was filled with a long-bewildered sorrow”—but the emotions are strong and real. The story’s brevity makes it a promising discussion-starter, and the idea that “They may be dead but they are never really gone” is presented without excess sentimentality. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-916291-86-3

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Kane Miller

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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KEVIN AND HIS DAD

by Irene Smalls ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
MY POP POP AND ME
by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson

- BOOK REVIEW
MY NANA AND ME
by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson

- BOOK REVIEW
DON’T SAY AIN’T
by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Colin Bootman

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ME AND MY FAMILY TREE

by Joan Sweeney ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1999

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PLB 0-517-70967-8 Me And My Family Tree (32 pp.; $13.00; PLB $14.99; May; 0-517-70966-X; PLB 0-517-70967-8): For children who are naturally curious about the people who care for them (most make inquiries into family relationships at an early age), Sweeney explains, with the assistance of a young narrator, the concept of a family tree. Photographs become understandable once the young girl learns the relationships among family members; she wonders what her own family tree will look like when she marries and has children. A larger message comes at the end of this story: not only does she have a family tree, but so does everyone in the world. Cable’s drawings clearly define the process of creating a family tree; she provides a blank tree so children can start on their own geneaology.(Picture book. 5-7)