A fascinating study of a unique community. (maps, author’s note. (Informational picture book. 8-14)
St. Kilda is a remote archipelago about 100 miles off the west coast of Scotland.
This is the story of the last community to inhabit the island of Hirta, St. Kilda’s largest island. Through narrative and evocative monoprints in blues, greens, and russet, Waters tells the story of the island and its last human inhabitants. The narrative is interspersed with descriptions and sketches of the wildlife of St. Kilda and the activities of the population. In spite of its remoteness, humans have lived on St. Kilda since the Bronze Age. The titular child, Norman John Gillies, was born there in 1925. The close-knit community lived a subsistence lifestyle, raising sheep for tweed production and collecting wild birds from the cliffs for food. A one-room schoolhouse and the church provided educational guidance and spiritual discipline. Increasing communication with the mainland during the 20th century caused the population to dwindle, and eventually Norman and his family were forced to evacuate with the entire population in 1930 when the island was deemed uninhabitable. The village on Hirta was abandoned, and the St. Kildans were resettled on the British mainland. The islands of St. Kilda have become a World Heritage Site. The illustrations emphasize its wind-swept wildness, the few, white human inhabitants dressed in garb as humble as the cottages they live in.
A fascinating study of a unique community. (maps, author’s note. (Informational picture book. 8-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78628-187-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Child's Play
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote...
Two republished tales by a Greco-Cherokee author feature both folkloric and modern elements as well as new illustrations.
One of the two has never been offered south of the (Canadian) border. In “Coyote Sings to the Moon,” the doo-wop hymn sung nightly by Old Woman and all the animals except tone-deaf Coyote isn’t enough to keep Moon from hiding out at the bottom of the lake—until she is finally driven forth by Coyote’s awful wailing. She has been trying to return to the lake ever since, but that piercing howl keeps her in the sky. In “Coyote’s New Suit” he is schooled in trickery by Raven, who convinces him to steal the pelts of all the other animals while they’re bathing, sends the bare animals to take clothes from the humans’ clothesline, and then sets the stage for a ruckus by suggesting that Coyote could make space in his overcrowded closet by having a yard sale. No violence ensues, but from then to now humans and animals have not spoken to one another. In Eggenschwiler’s monochrome scenes Coyote and the rest stand on hind legs and (when stripped bare) sport human limbs. Old Woman might be Native American; the only other completely human figure is a pale-skinned girl.
Though usually cast as the trickster, Coyote is more victim than victimizer, making this a nice complement to other Coyote tales. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55498-833-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Gleefully providing ammunition for snarky readers eager to second-guess misguided beliefs and commands of grown-ups, Rondina dishes up the straight poop on dozens of topics from the cleanliness of a dog’s mouth and the relationship (none) between French fries and acne to whether an earwig could really crawl into your ear and eat your brains. Since she cites no readily checkable sources—support for assertions comes in the form of quotations from experts in various fields, but there is no bibliography—it’s hard to tell how accurate some of her claims are—it would be nice to have a citation to the JAMA studies that debunk the sugar-hyperactivity connection, for instance—and too often she provides only an unsatisfying “You Decide” instead of a clear “True” or “False.” Still, it all makes painless reading equally suitable for casual dipping or reading straight through, and Sylvester’s pen-and-ink spot art adds further light notes to every page. An extensive closing catalog of familiar “Parentisms”—“I’m not running a taxi service,” “Because I said so, that’s why,” etc.—adds a chuckle-inducing lagniappe. (Informational ephemera. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55453-454-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
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