At ten, Rama is hard pressed looking after four younger sibs in the street where there's little to do. Her family is living in the city while Father is in the hospital, her mother works nights, and Rama misses her real home at Cochiti Pueblo and her grandparents' traditional tales. Then she makes friends with Miss Lottie, the lonely old woman upstairs who reminds her of her grandparents, and shows her her most precious possession—a storyteller doll with five children in her lap—explaining how Grandfather tells stories. Soon Miss Lottie and Rama, plus other neighborhood children, are sharing many kinds of stories— fingerplays, memories, and newly invented ones—out on the stoop; and when at last Rama's family returns to Cochiti, she leaves the doll with her new friend. Weisman's amiable story is effectively illustrated in the intense colors of the Southwest. Bradley, a Santa Fe-based Chippewa, places his sturdy, primitive forms in carefully organized compositions that draw the characters warmly together. Instructive and appealing. Note about storyteller dolls. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-8478-1742-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Rizzoli
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1993
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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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