The traditional semi-nomadic life of the Masai of Tanzania. Notes by both Margolies and the Tanzanian Ambassador to the U.N. point out the dilemma of a people who fear encroaching change and cling to the old while recognizing the benefits of the new. Cattle are the focus of Masai existence; when grass is depleted, they move on. Children don't attend school; they live with parasites, trachoma, malaria, flies, and predators and without modern medical care. As more Masai settle on farms or in cities, traditions become more difficult to maintain. The author's portrait of an exotic culture where roles are strictly defined by sex and age is straightforward and nonjudgmental in showing various group members at work and play and the ceremony for boys entering manhood. Unfortunately, her photography is technically and artistically inferior to that in her book about New Guinea (Warriors, Wigmen, and the Crocodile People, 1993); it suffers from poor resolution, reflections, bad composition and lighting, and unfortunate framing and cropping. Still, an adequate additional purchase where demand is high and Kroll's Masai and I (1992) needs supplementing. (Nonfiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-02-762284-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Four Winds/MacMillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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