Crist-Evans pens a series of poignant poems that are the journal entries of a 13-year-old who accompanies his father to fight in the Civil War. They leave their beloved farm in Tennessee and join Confederate forces on their way to Gettysburg. At home in Silver Bluff, Tennessee, are his mother and sister; his best friend is John, who is black and is not allowed to go in the school, so listens at the window and draws letters in the dirt. The voice of the boy is simple, direct, haunting; he is excited to see General Lee and tells his father, “You should have seen them riding . . . it was like a dance, and no one missed a step.” His father only nods, and “I know his mind is somewhere/off in Tennessee, dreaming of the corn in even rows.” That man will never see Tennessee again, for on July 4, 1863, he is killed at Gettysburg. The boy carves his daddy’s name into a tree and begins the long ride home. Exquisite, somber black-and-white woodcut illustrations accompany the poems; the images are often as lyrical as the text. (Poetry. 8-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-91208-3
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
From Hughes (Enchantment in the Garden, 1997, etc.), a WWII story with big ambitions—many of them realized’set out in the pages of an unusually long picture book. Lenny Levi lives in London with his mother during the Blitz, cherishing the letters from his father at the front, and the medal of the lion and the unicorn his father gave him. When Lenny is evacuated to the country, he finds himself at a huge old manor with three little girls, the lady of the house, and a few servants. He is lonely, teased at school and at home for not eating bacon and for bedwetting, but makes a friend of the young man with one leg he meets in the secret garden on the estate. The garden, thick with roses, also holds a beautiful statue of a unicorn like the one on his medal. As Lenny’s loneliness and fear spiral out of control, a night vision of the unicorn brings him back; his mother comes to take them both to his aunt in Wales, where his father will join them. The storyline, while straightforward, hints at difficult subjects—religious differences, amputees, separation, family disruptions, the terror of bombing, and more—which are then given only cursory treatment. The pictures are splendid: luminous, full-bodied watercolors that capture the horror of London burning, the glory of the countryside, and mists of dreams. It may be difficult for this to find its audience, but children too young for Michelle Magorian’s Good Night, Mr. Tom (1986) might be captured. (Picture book. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7894-2555-6
Page Count: 60
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Monk takes a didactic tack in presenting one girl’s ancestry, weaving into a story of several generations the scene of her African-American mother and Caucasian father’s wedding. The stumbling narration establishes that the protagonist is in sixth grade, looking back on a summer weekend before she entered second grade. Her loving Aunt Prudence, known as Aunt Poogee, takes the narrator to an open-air market, where they encounter another relative, Miss Violet. Miss Violet asks outright, “My goodness, Prudence, is the child mixed?” The question haunts the girl, whose name is revealed as Hope, until Aunt Poogee steps in with a bedtime story that is overblown, invoking the faith of immigrants and slaves across generations who “look forward to a future where you will be proud to be part of a race that is simply ‘human.’ “ The sentiments are strong, but the delivery borders on mawkish. Sturdy faces, tender postures, and vibrant backgrounds considerably enliven the bibliotherapeutic proceedings. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 9, 1999
ISBN: 1-57505-230-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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