Wolkstein (Glass Mountain, 1999, etc.) elaborates on Elphinstone Dayrell’s terse rendition of the West African “Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky,” by giving Moon a larger, more active part. When in his wanderings Sun meets Ocean, Sun’s wife, Moon, suggests that he invite her to visit—but despite precautions, Sun and Moon are driven out of their home and into the sky by Ocean’s huge, teeming presence. In the best-known modern version of the tale, Blair Lent’s Caldecott Honor–winning pictures (1968) depict the figures as tribespeople wearing stylized masks and placed into sparely detailed settings. Here the shining spheres of Sun and Moon actually sit atop graceful bodies clad in long, simple robes, Ocean flows into their bamboo dwelling over peaceful, carefully kept gardens, and multiple layers of thinly applied oil paint add richly modulated light and color to every illustration. The paintings have been laid over a clay base that mimics a sandy beach with bits of shell pressed into it, a lovely background for the theme. While this is not a radical re-envisioning, the dusty tale has been given a fresh, elegant, new dress. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-201774-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Gulliver/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2001
A lovely and poetic recasting of the Biblical creation story in a modern spirit, from the versatile Grimes (My Man Blue, p. 721, etc.). Father and son create together, beginning “Once upon a time there was no time.” There are whimsical touches, e.g., the father calls the waters seas because he likes the sound of it; the stars are made of the son’s laughter, and some of them are angels in disguise. Adam and Eve appear in shimmering silhouette, and the final view of the earth echoes the glorious photographs taken from space. Morin’s illustrations make use of fabulous textures in paint and fabric; his dense collages in their dark jeweled colors include shells, beads, and needlework. Other contemporary creation stories, such as Julius Lester’s What a Truly Cool World and Caitl°n Matthews’s The Blessing Seed (both, 1998) could be used with this one for a tender trilogy. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8028-5104-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1999
A resonant, evocative tale about a lonely woman and the child of the sea who becomes her dearest companion. Mariana, an old woman, lives by the sea that is a mother to her, providing her with food for the table, driftwood for her fire, and music for her soul. But she is lonely, for the village children mock her and run away. One day after a wild storm when the sea-wolves prowl, she finds a crab shell; within it is a tiny merchild, with pearly skin and hair “the color of the setting sun.” Mariana, at the advice of the Wise Woman, places the merbaby where her mother, the Sea Spirit, can see she is safe; every day the Sea Spirit comes to feed her daughter and to teach her. Mariana cares for her the rest of the time, even though she knows the merchild must eventually return to the sea. The village children come to play with the merchild, and warm to Mariana. When the merchild does finally rejoin her mother, she returns daily to Mariana with gifts and greetings. Conveyed in the emotionally rich telling are the rhythm of waves, filial devotion, the loving care of children, and the knowledge of beasts. The beautiful illustrations are full of the laps and curves of the ocean, the brilliant colors of sea and sky, and the gorgeous reds and dusky browns of fabric, interiors, skin tones, and shells. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8028-5204-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1999
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