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
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
Keena Ford’s second-grade class is taking a field trip to the United States Capitol. This good-hearted girl works hard to behave, but her impulsive decisions have a way of backfiring, no matter how hard she tries to do the right thing. In this second book in a series, Keena cuts off one of her braids and later causes a congressman to fall down the stairs. The first-person journal format is a stretch—most second graders can barely write, let alone tell every detail of three days of her life. Children will wonder how Keena can cut one of her “two thick braids” all the way off by pretend-snipping in the air. They will be further confused because the cover art clearly shows Keena with a completely different hairdo on the field trip than the one described. Though a strong African-American heroine is most welcome in chapter books and Keena and her family are likable and realistic, this series needs more polish before Keena writes about her next month in school. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3264-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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