A blend of sea and land, leavened with some scary creatures from folklore, served up with the local foods and fruits, and then spread to other colder parts of the globe, this anthology is a lively mix of rhythms, stories, and descriptions that illuminate the geography and culture of the region, while providing a variety of linguistic and visual delights. The poets hail mostly from the English-speaking islands and the parts of the world where Caribbean immigrants have settled. They include the two editors from Guyana, James Berry from Jamaica, Lynn Joseph from Trinidad, and many others. Short biographical notes would have been a welcome addition. Each of the five artists, who are not necessarily associated with the Caribbean, has illustrated the poems in one of the sections of the book in very different styles. They range from Felstead’s Matisse-like collages of the sea and its inhabitants that open the collection to Jane Ray’s spooky renderings of the supernatural creatures of island folklore to Satoshi Kitamura’s stylized, humorous people and fruits and vegetables. Traditional proverbs and rhymes are scattered throughout. There is fun to be had with Valerie Bloom’s poem entitled “Guidance,” in which a very proper uncle dispenses such advice as “Don’ kiss yuh teeth when me talk to yuh / An’ mind how yuh looking at me too” and a very sad little girl thinks: “Life is very tough for me / When Uncle Henry comes to tea.” For those who enjoy the feeling of horror, the eerie “Jumbie Man,” by Faustin Charles, in which the lines “Jumbie man returning red / Fire bleeding the dead; With his see-through head / Walking where angels fear to tread” is accompanied by a fearsome painting by Ray. With poems and illustrations for many moods, this volume with its lively language and playful pictures is sure to please. (index of poets and first lines) (Poetry. 6-12)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2003
ISBN: 978-0-7636-1861-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lovely encouragement to young writers to persist.
This follow-up to How To Read a Story (2005) shows a child going through the steps of creating a story, from choosing an idea through sharing with friends.
A young black child lies in a grassy field writing in a journal, working on “Step 1 / Search for an Idea— / a shiny one.” During a walk to the library, various ideas float in colorful thought bubbles, with exclamation points: “playing soccer! / dogs!” Inside the library, less-distinct ideas, expressed as shapes and pictures, with question marks, float about as the writer collects ideas to choose from. The young writer must then choose a setting, a main character, and a problem for that protagonist. Plotting, writing with detail, and revising are described in child-friendly terms and shown visually, in the form of lists and notes on faux pieces of paper. Finally, the writer sits in the same field, in a new season, sharing the story with friends. The illustrations feature the child’s writing and drawing as well as images of imagined events from the book in progress bursting off the page. The child’s main character is an adventurous mermaid who looks just like the child, complete with afro-puff pigtails, representing an affirming message about writing oneself into the world. The child’s family, depicted as black, moves in the background of the setting, which is also populated by a multiracial cast.
A lovely encouragement to young writers to persist. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5666-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit.
The bubble-helmeted feline explains what rockets do and the role they have played in sending people (and animals) into space.
Addressing a somewhat younger audience than in previous outings (Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space, 2013, etc.), Astro Cat dispenses with all but a light shower of “factoroids” to describe how rockets work. A highly selective “History of Space Travel” follows—beginning with a crew of fruit flies sent aloft in 1947, later the dog Laika (her dismal fate left unmentioned), and the human Yuri Gagarin. Then it’s on to Apollo 11 in 1969; the space shuttles Discovery, Columbia, and Challenger (the fates of the latter two likewise elided); the promise of NASA’s next-gen Orion and the Space Launch System; and finally vague closing references to other rockets in the works for local tourism and, eventually, interstellar travel. In the illustrations the spacesuited professor, joined by a mouse and cat in similar dress, do little except float in space and point at things. Still, the art has a stylish retro look, and portraits of Sally Ride and Guion Bluford diversify an otherwise all-white, all-male astronaut corps posing heroically or riding blocky, geometric spacecraft across starry reaches.
Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-911171-55-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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