A day in the life of young Cuffy, the son of a fisherman on a barrier island off Georgia, set to a Gullah ``calendar,'' which, Banks notes in an afterword, she found ``oddly beautiful.'' Before Cuffy's story starts, there is a glossary, followed by Cook's sweet watercolor rendition of the diurnal calendar, to be read clockwise, showing the lyrical Gullah names for the times of day: ``Sooner Mornin','' or just before dawn, ``First Fowl Crow,'' ``Day Clean,'' when dawn breaks, and on through ``Plat-Eye Prowl,'' when nocturnal animals awaken, and ``Hag-Hollerin' Time,'' after midnight. These terms are then incorporated into the story of Cuffy's day, which includes the crowing of his Dahomey's (grandmother's) ``frizzled ol' bird'' and proceeds through breakfast with his infant sister Bina, his gathering of crabs, and Dahomey's turning them into deviled crabs that Cuffy sells to visitors off the ferry. The boy plans to use the money he takes in—and there is never any doubt that he'll take money in—to buy a boat in order to become a fisherman like his father, Prince. So much is left unsaid that this idyll has at least one unsettling element: There is no mention of Cuffy's mother, whose absence, judging by Bina's age, must be fairly new. The names for the times of day are inherently fascinating, as are the many details of Gullah life and lore, but they lose much of their power and intrigue when shoehorned into this story. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-679-86673-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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