A rare and distinctive perspective on the relationship between people and tigers, though with specialized appeal.
Tiger stories from the Gond people, one of the largest Indigenous groups in South Asia.
In this wordy Indian import, author/illustrator Uikey laments the loss of the interdependent relationship that tigers once enjoyed with the Gond tribe. They shared their forest home, he recounts, “and the tiger was like an elder, a worthy ancestor.” Along with his own childhood memories of tigers, he also shares six short stories about the tiger. These tales are set in rural India and are part of the folklore of the Gond. In a preface, Uikey mentions that he has penned these stories in the hope that they will be remembered by future generations. At the end, he brings the book back full circle by sharing how his small son, Chalit, experiences the tiger now and how city-dweller Chalit’s experiences are so different from Uikey’s as a child. It’s a heartfelt effort, but the writing style doesn’t seem geared toward children. Young readers will need a significant amount of explanation and context to completely understand Uikey’s perspective. The book also has much more text than is common in the United States for a picture book, gearing it toward older readers. Compensating for this, the book has strong visual appeal, with intricate die cuts on the front and back covers. The earthy-hued, ink-on-paper illustrations in Gond art are absolutely striking in their depictions of the tiger and Indian rural life.
A rare and distinctive perspective on the relationship between people and tigers, though with specialized appeal. (Picture book. 10-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-93-83145-99-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tara Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
Once there was a poor child who had no father or mother—they, like everyone in the world, had died. In search of heaven, the lonely boy traverses the cosmos, but all that symbolizes hope and possibility is found worthless and what seemed bright and beautiful reeks of despair. The Earth is an empty vessel, and the moon, sun and stars become metaphors for the desolation and disease of the universe. Based on a story found in Georg Büchner’s play Woyzeck, Amann’s bleak adaptation offers a conversation piece for sophisticated readers. Bhend’s lyrical artwork, done in colored pencil and mixed media, with its soft colors and texture, is a welcome contrast to the blackness of space and story. While her style seems simple, her cerebral images aptly represent the child’s complex, metaphysical journey and are appropriately ripe with symbols. It is she who leaves readers with the idea that peace and comfort may be possible; the barren, dark realm evoked by the words demands this mercy. This may be a good companion for those studying Büchner, but it's sure not for the usual picture-book audience. (Picture book. 12 & up)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7358-2316-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
Drizzle tonight off the east coast of my head," reads Krauss' weather report, assuring old admirers that her head still grooves to its own isobars; and "b Ballet" encourages readers to let go too: ". . . be a button they push you and the moon comes out." Besides the ballet, she comes up with offbeat operas ("littlekid opera" consists almost entirely of "Bow wow wow" repeated), plays ("Bells" has a man deliver the sun to a little girl's apartment), songs, and a "sonnet" in which each of the 14 lines consists of the one word NO. (The title, perversely, is "Ten Nos," and the pictures show ten naughty rabbits provoking them.) Not everything here is new; for example, "beginning on paper," which ends "I write my name," reaches back to Krauss' 1970 picture-book-length "I Write It," and "A Beautiful Day" (complete text: "GIRL: What a beautiful day)/THE SUN falls down on the stage.") is straight from The Cantilevered Rainbow, published in 1965 for ages 13+. Reviewers then found the selection too avant-garde for teenagers, and perhaps it will find a wider audience in the freer picture-book world—though who's to know if it will say more to this age group? But the main problem here is that Hazard's illustrations aren't wiggy enough to make the most of it. Her children cavort jubilantly, and her animals—the rampaging rabbits, lambs romping in poppies, dogs cutting up in a classroom—are cute enough for a more everyday show of high spirits. But she throws away the title line with a blue splot, and overall her ordinary-looking black line and pale blue pictures betray a literal, linear sensibility when what is called for is the abandon of Bileck's Rain Makes Applesauce.
Pub Date: March 12, 1979
ISBN: 0688801862
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 24, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1979
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