edited by Nikki Siegen-Smith & illustrated by Bernard Lodge ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1996
A handsomely packaged collection of lyrics and proverbs, subtitled ``Songs and Chants From Tribal Peoples Around the World,'' gathered from several dozen endangered cultures. Loosely grouped by subject, most of the selections are celebratory: ``I lift my voice like the burning incense of flowers,'' sings an Aztec poet; to an African Dinka, ``My bull is white like the silver fish in the river.'' For an Inuit, ``only one thing/is great;/to see from my home/the day coming. . . .'' Planting songs, lullabies, and children's chants are connected to familiar activities; others, such as the New Guinea ``Cycle of A'Asia''—``Aia sitting seated/sitting forever/Aia living alive/living forever . . .''—are pretty words, removed from context. Lodge's colored linocuts have a naive look that suggests tribal art without evoking any specific culture's style; equally evocative is a running frieze of tiny figures along the bottoms of pages created by Cica Fitipaldi to decorate Brazil's Yanomami Park. Despite scattered glosses and a brief note at the end, readers infer only hints of each culture's individual character, but the universal sense that Earth is powerful in some ways and fragile in others comes through clearly. (Anthology/folklore. 6-10)
Pub Date: May 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-525-45564-7
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1996
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edited by Nikki Siegen-Smith & illustrated by Giovanni Manna
by Lois Lowry & illustrated by Middy Thomas ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2002
Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class announcing: “I’m your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything.” Everything about her is unusual and mysterious—her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince’s palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are “absolutely true.” Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher’s lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of “how a story is made” titles. Gooney Bird’s stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children’s fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-23848-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
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by Lois Lowry
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by Lois Lowry ; illustrated by Jonathan Stroh
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by Lois Lowry
by Teri Sloat & Betty Huffman & illustrated by Teri Sloat ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2004
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
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by Teri Sloat ; illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet
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by Teri Sloat ; illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet
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by Teri Sloat and illustrated by Stefano Vitale
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