This attractive presentation is appropriate as a baby gift, for daycare and preschool collections and public libraries.
Addressed primarily to adults interested in singing these traditional songs to their children, this collection includes 29 lullabies from countries including Japan, Nigeria, Malawi and Greenland.
On some double-page spreads, a common theme runs through several lullabies, such as one in which the singer warns the baby about the grey wolf in the Russian song “Hushabye, Baby, Hush,” the witch Befana in the Italian “Ninna, Nanna” or the “scary night monster” in “Tutu Maramba,” a Brazilian selection. Food is highlighted on another spread, with “Candy Floss” from Iraq, “Sugar, Bread and Butter,” a Hindi song from India, “Black-Eyed Peas with Onions” from Turkey and the Mexican “Stir, Stir the Chocolate!” (usually regarded as a game song). Music for about half the lullabies is provided. Most songs are printed in their original languages, but lullabies in languages such as Arabic and Korean are transliterated instead of being rendered in original scripts. Animated oil-and–colored-pencil paintings show adults and children in fully-realized landscapes, city streets, marketplaces and bedrooms. Because several lullabies often appear in each double-page spread, however, the illustration only relates to one culture, a disconnect that may annoy the multicultural purist. Acknowledgements mostly note individuals, not print sources, because the songs are from the oral tradition.
This attractive presentation is appropriate as a baby gift, for daycare and preschool collections and public libraries. (sheet music) (Picture book. birth-5)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-84507-967-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
A powerful and thoroughly satisfying blend of sports, history, family saga, and self-discovery.
A Black tween’s world revolves around her love of baseball and her grandfather’s stories of his African homeland.
Charlene Cuffey loves baseball; she was captivated after seeing a Negro Leagues game. Despite her mother’s disapproval, Charley dreams of becoming the first girl to be a professional pitcher. She also loves her grandfather Nana Kofi’s stories and his attempts to teach her his mother tongue of Twi. Nana Kofi was captured from his community and brought to America as a boy; later he fought in the war to end slavery. When Charley responds to a bully’s taunts by challenging him to a game, she’s determined to win. Unfortunately, she makes decisions that place her and her community in danger. This highly anticipated second volume in The Door of No Return trilogy reintroduces Kofi to readers as an elder, revealing how he survived, gained his freedom, established a family, and passed on his legacy of resilience to Charley. Alexander skillfully builds on the strengths of the first installment in portraying a strong sense of community and family, often in the face of capricious violence. Charley is a well-crafted character who embodies her tightknit family, her heritage, and her keen mind. The presence of real-life historical figures and events helps capture the tenor of life in segregated Virginia, while the beautifully flowing poetry contributes to the book’s engaging qualities.
A powerful and thoroughly satisfying blend of sports, history, family saga, and self-discovery. (author’s note) (Verse historical fiction. 10-18)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9780316442596
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
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