In another of his explorations of the traversal between A and B (Shortcut, 1995, and a detour: Why the Chicken Crossed the Road, 1987), Macaulay takes the scenic route and concludes, perhaps, that all roads really do lead to Rome. This bird's-eye view of a grand city's architecture begins when a maiden ties a message onto the leg of a homing pigeon. Before readers can say S.P.Q.R., the pigeon has made the unusual decision of abstaining from the shortest path between two points in favor of a whirling flight through Rome. Macaulay has created a pen-and-ink sketchbook of ancient buildings in the modern city, stringing together black-and-white drawings of landmarks with the thinnest of red lines (to indicate the pigeon's flight). Along with labeled monuments are more mundane sightings: On the street, a dog drinks from a fire hydrant while conversations take place in cafes and on cell phones. The views of Rome are so encompassing that by the time the pigeon delivers its message to a draughtsman hunched over a drawing, readers have almost forgotten the bird's errand. "Yes" is the answer to an unstated question that hangs, tantalizingly, in the air. An aerial map of Rome ("not to scale") and brief, conversational descriptions recap the highlights of the pigeon's trip. In it, Macaulay confirms that his is not a profession, nor an obsession, but a love affair of sketching and architecture. (Picture book. 7-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-395-82279-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1997
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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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