A delightful follow-up to Naj’s Tear that delivers a sky serpent and a strong heroine.
Written in rhyming verse, a children’s chapter book continues Brisa’s exploits as she helps her friend Naj return to his distant home.
In Brisa’s Tales: Naj’s Tear (2012), the first book in this series, young Brisa meets Naj, imprisoned in an enchanted brook by a witch. Brisa retrieves a magic pearl from the witch’s house, making some friends along the way, and she releases Naj from his enchantment; the book ends before revealing his true form. In this second book, readers learn that Naj is a sky serpent, as in Mesoamerican mythology. When his wings are strong enough, Naj plans to fly home and see his mother again (his father, the Sky King, “flew off into the heavens” long ago). But when he and Brisa finally arrive there, they can’t find his mother. After searching in another city, Naj returns and discovers that his father can manifest at certain times; the Sky King explains that Naj’s mother died long ago but loved him and wanted him to be happy. Brisa, too, embarks on several escapades, including dodging a leopard and being captured by Wicked, an evil man trapped for centuries in the city’s temple. Meanwhile, Naj has one more transformation in store. As in the first book, Robbins writes an exciting adventure story with an appealing, resourceful heroine who proves her courage. Naj’s Tear effectively drew on traditional fairy-tale motifs, and here, Robbins makes intriguing use of elements from Mayan culture, such as the feathered serpent and twin brothers (monkeys, in this case). Although it has a light touch, the book handles Naj’s sorrow over his lost mother with sensitivity. A few lines don’t scan well, but Robbins is a skillful versifier, using tools like rhyme, repetition, and varying line lengths with evocative results, as when a stalking leopard notices that Brisa’s wand “wasn’t particularly long / nor was it particularly thick. / So he wasn’t particularly worried / at that particular time / because this particular leopard / had breakfast on his mind.”
A delightful follow-up to Naj’s Tear that delivers a sky serpent and a strong heroine.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4990-5241-1
Page Count: 170
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating...
Nicholas is a bright boy who likes to make trouble at school, creatively.
When he decides to torment his fifth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Granger (who is just as smart as he is), by getting everyone in the class to replace the word "pen'' with "frindle,'' he unleashes a series of events that rapidly spins out of control. If there's any justice in the world, Clements (Temple Cat, 1995, etc.) may have something of a classic on his hands. By turns amusing and adroit, this first novel is also utterly satisfying. The chess-like sparring between the gifted Nicholas and his crafty teacher is enthralling, while Mrs. Granger is that rarest of the breed: a teacher the children fear and complain about for the school year, and love and respect forever after.
With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating tale—one to press upon children, and one they'll be passing among themselves. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-689-80669-8
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1996
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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