It is seldom that word and image braid themselves together in such gorgeous perfection. Walker has written a text both ebullient and gentle, about a walk in the natural and in the spiritual world: “There is a sunrise / At the edge / Of / My skin / Praising / Me.” Her young female narrator has long, curly hair and is the color of caramel. One could say that we see her walking, singing, dancing and sleeping, but that does not begin to encompass the myriad transformations Vitale imagines. Using a Venetian palette of lustrous intensity, he gives form to Walker’s words: When the girl sings, her hair becomes musical notes, faces and flowers; her body becomes a stringed lyre. When there is a pen “Nestled / In my hand / Writing / Me,” the girl becomes translucent against a lined page, her profile and her hair outlined in a flowing script of words. Young children will respond to the rhythm of the words and the intense beauty of the magical images; older children will hear the heartbeat of imagination along their own pulses. (Picture book. 4-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-057080-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Myers (Brown Angels, 1993; Glorious Angels, 1995; etc.) has gathered another collection of vintage photographs of African-American mothers and children, with a few fathers thrown into the mix, and a good number of solo shots of babies, young gentlemen, and young ladies. Some of the photographs have the date and place inked in with antique penmanship, or the imprint of the studio, sending readers spinning back in time. The array of expressions becomes a message of love, while the stances, clothes, and settings envelop that message. As in the other books, Myers pairs sepia photographs with his verse, and the success of many entries depends on the age of the reader, e.g., the sentiments of “Speak softly in the morning/And light it with your smile/You will soft-speak ‘Mama’/And I will soft-speak ‘Child’ “ may be lost on the young. When Myers writes in a droll mode, almost everyone will be entertained: “ ‘You can’t just leave them like you do collards.’/Mama mixed corn bread in a pan./‘I can’t stand no mushy greens, mushy rice/Or a preacher without a plan.’ “ (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: April 30, 1998
ISBN: 0-06-027721-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1998
Otten's first children's book offers one vivid short poem for every month of the year: ``February turns everything to gray,'' ``June measures time until the longest day becomes the shortest night,'' and ``September squeezes what is left of summer into night-cool cider,'' etc. Doney's gorgeous, impressionistic paintings combine perfectly with the simple resplendence of Otten's poems, using light and shadow to draw readers into the shade of a willow in April, to the apple-blossom snow of May, and to the baked heat of a July afternoon. Text and art connect seasonal images with nature, people, animals, and home, finally bringing the children seen in the paintings inside for a firelight reading of the same book readers are holding. A splendid walk through the months. (Picture book. 4-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-688-12556-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1997
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