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WHERE JAMAICA GO?

Name: WHERE JAMAICA GO?
Author: Dale Gottlieb
ISBN: 0-531-09525-8

by Dale Gottlieb & illustrated by Dale Gottlieb ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1996

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A day in the life of a Caribbean girl is told by Gottlieb (Seeing Eye Willie, 1992, etc.) through three quick stories written in rhyme. First the girl goes downtown, where everybody wears a frown. ``What Jamaica see when she go downtown? Fish and fruit and Miss Lee Brown. What Miss Lee Brown do? She do the drums. She play them funny? Go tum tee tum!'' Act II finds her beachcombing: Jellyfish are scaring her friend, Manny, so Jamaica blows the jellyfish a kiss and makes Manny laugh. Lastly, Jamaica heads home with her dad. ``Where Jamaica go? She go back home. She get there walking? Her daddy's Chrome Dome.'' There is a moment of drama involving a bottle of cologne and an escaped chicken, but Jamaica straightens matters out. Gottlieb uses her usual loose lines and bright colors to give this saucy piece plenty of bump and oomph. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-531-09525-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orchard

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
MS. SNEED'S GUIDE TO HYGIENE
by Dale Gottlieb & illustrated by Dale Gottlieb

- BOOK REVIEW
WATERMELON DAY
by Kathi Appelt & illustrated by Dale Gottlieb

- BOOK REVIEW
JACKAL'S FLYING LESSON
adapted by Verna Aardema & illustrated by Dale Gottlieb

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THE NIGHT IS YOURS

by Abdul-Razak Zachariah ; illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 2, 2019

Vital messages of self-love for darker-skinned children.

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On hot summer nights, Amani’s parents permit her to go outside and play in the apartment courtyard, where the breeze is cool and her friends are waiting.

The children jump rope to the sounds of music as it floats through a neighbor’s window, gaze at stars in the night sky, and play hide-and-seek in the moonlight. It is in the moonlight that Amani and her friends are themselves found by the moon, and it illumines the many shades of their skin, which vary from light tan to deep brown. In a world where darkness often evokes ideas of evil or fear, this book is a celebration of things that are dark and beautiful—like a child’s dark skin and the night in which she plays. The lines “Show everyone else how to embrace the night like you. Teach them how to be a night-owning girl like you” are as much an appeal for her to love and appreciate her dark skin as they are the exhortation for Amani to enjoy the night. There is a sense of security that flows throughout this book. The courtyard is safe and homelike. The moon, like an additional parent, seems to be watching the children from the sky. The charming full-bleed illustrations, done in washes of mostly deep blues and greens, make this a wonderful bedtime story.

Vital messages of self-love for darker-skinned children. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: July 2, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-525-55271-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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PILLOWLAND

by Laurie Berkner ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2017

For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands.

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Berkner’s children’s song gets the picture-book treatment with illustrations from Garoche.

What kid hasn’t made a massive pillow fort and imagined all sorts of adventures? Well, Berkner’s premise is that there is a land where everything is made of pillows, and three lucky children get to visit there. (They appear to be siblings, perhaps a blended family: Mom and one girl are black; Dad, one boy, and one girl are white.) The illustrations transition between depictions of obvious imaginative play in a bedroom to a fantasy world and back again at the end, when the parents peek in at the three asleep. Garoche’s art consists of photos of papercut artwork arranged in dioramas with some Photoshop details. Reminiscent of Michael Garland’s work (though more pastel in color) or that of Elly McKay (though less ethereal), the illustrations are a mixed bag, with layers and hard edges juxtaposed against all the pillows. The king and queen of the song are obviously stand-ins for the parents. Children who know the tune may not sit still for a reading, while those who don’t may wonder at the repeated refrain.

For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands. (Picture book. 3-7)