SONGS FOR SURVIVAL

by Nikki--Ed. Siegen-Smith ‧ 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.

Pub Date: May 1, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1996

Categories: CHILDREN'S