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MY WOUNDED ISLAND

Name: MY WOUNDED ISLAND
Author: Jacques Pasquet
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1565-0

by Jacques Pasquet ; illustrated by Marion Arbona ; translated by Sophie B. Watson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 29, 2017

A moving if oversimplified look at a very real threat

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Imarvaluk fears for the safety of her island home off the coast of Alaska.

Imarvaluk’s Alaskan Native people, the Inupiat, have lived near the sea since the beginning of memory. Her name in English means “the song of the waves,” but though she loves her name, she finds it hard to continue to love the ocean. Her family lives on a small island, Sarichef, so small it would be a tiny speck on any map of the Arctic Circle. The Inupiat people have adopted many modern ways: “We no longer live in igloos,” Imarvaluk tells readers, but in wooden houses, and most prefer snowmobiles to their traditional dog sleds. Her grandfather’s dogs used to scare Imarvaluk, but now she is more afraid the encroaching sea will soon devour their island home. Outsiders studying the phenomenon have explained how climate change is causing the glaciers to melt and the sea to rise. The villagers are moving many houses, including Imarvaluk’s, inland, but they also understand someday they will have to leave their homeland—and their traditional ways—behind. Although it perpetuates the myth that igloos were or are permanent domiciles, Pasquet’s moving story does introduce the concept of climate change, and its imminent catastrophic impact on many indigenous communities, to young readers. Arbona’s illustrations are by turns lyrical and frightening, truly indicative of the themes of the book.

A moving if oversimplified look at a very real threat . (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4598-1565-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orca

Review Posted Online: May 14, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
SALT, PEPPER, SEASON, SPICE
by Jacques Pasquet ; illustrated by Claire Anghinolfi ; translated by Ann Marie Boulanger

- BOOK REVIEW
OUR ENVIRONMENT
by Jacques Pasquet ; illustrated by Yves Dumont ; translated by Shelley Tanaka

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IMANI'S MOON

by JaNay Brown-Wood ; illustrated by Hazel Mitchell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 14, 2014

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...

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Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.

The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)