GIFTS

by Jo Ellen Bogart ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996

Lively plasticine bas-reliefs depict scenes of another traveling grandmother (see Blackstone review, above) and the gifts she brings to her granddaughter from around the world. Bogart offers rhyming questions and answers: ""My grandma went to Switzerland,/said: 'What would you have me bring?' 'Just a chunk of cheese/and a mountain, please,/and a bell that goes ding-a-ling-ling.' ""As the grandmother proceeds through her journeys, she grows older while her granddaughter grows up; the exotic settings include India, Africa, Australia, Mexico, and the Arctic. Reid's now-familiar technique has grown steadily more inventive and these illustrations are astonishing. Whether in large, detailed landscapes or dramatic close-ups, the book contains a wealth of plastic effects, from the soft folds and textures of the grandmother's clothes to the sparkling bubbles of a foamy sea. The lyrical and lighthearted rhymes never convey the exuberance of the art but advance the story nicely by providing a sequence of cues for the pictures.

Pub Date: April 1, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 44

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1996

Categories: CHILDREN'S