Illustrated with a Honduran painter’s ornately detailed, Maya-inflected figures, this bilingual telling of a tale passed down by the illustrator’s grandmother also presents an authentically Central American blend of folk mythology and social commentary. When humans that have been created severally from fragile clay, combustible wood and cold, silent gold prove unsatisfactory to the gods, the Good-Hearted God "did what only gods can do": cuts off his fingers, which grow into such lively and elusive people that the gods can’t catch them to put them through various tests. (The text is careful to add that the fingers grow back, "like lizards' tails.") The weary gods take a siesta, and when they awake to discover that the warm-hearted humans have brought the golden model to life, they decree that the finger people will evermore be forced to work for the model’s rich descendants—but the rich will never enter heaven unless both come together. Not a traditional tale, but it's told in an animated way and is strongly evocative of its root culture. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58980-889-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Pelican
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
A fresh, if not quite as seamless, alternative to Robert D. and Daniel San Souci’s Song of Sedna (1981).
A popular Inuit cautionary legend, featuring a haughty young woman and a gruesome climactic twist.
Arnaq will accept no suitor, until a shaman sea bird disguised as a handsome young man sweeps her away with glittering promises to a wretched, reeking tent on a distant shore. When her father arrives to rescue her, the shaman raises such a storm that her terrified dad casts her overboard—and cuts off her fingers to keep her from holding on to the boat. Those fingers are transformed into whales and seals, and she, into a testy spirit named Nuliajuq, who calls up storms on all who “disrespect the land or the sea.” This and other modern-sounding lines (“Eventually Arnaq succumbed to complete depression”) give the otherwise formal narrative a playfully anachronistic air that may or may not be intentional. Lim illustrates the tale in a realistic rather than stylized way, using flowing lines and brush strokes to depict natural settings, faces, Arnaq’s lustrous locks (and, though seen only from a distance, fingerless hands), and a range of accurately detailed arctic and sea animals. In an afterword, the author explains that the sea spirit goes by several regional names; a pronunciation guide to Inuktitut words in this version is also included.
A fresh, if not quite as seamless, alternative to Robert D. and Daniel San Souci’s Song of Sedna (1981). (Picture book/folk tale. 7-9)Pub Date: March 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-927095-75-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Oh, the curse of being the only child—not adorable like the baby and not smart like the older sibling! Invisible, that’s how Marvelous Maud, sheep sidekick to only-child, newly selected superhero Extraordinary Ernie, feels. Maud decides to adopt a sidekick of her own. Turns out being a sidekick is no job for a middle kitten, bunny, tortoise, horse, goldfish, duckling or mouse, so Maud decides to hold a contest. Along the way, she enjoys hearing the travails of all the middle critters, but she does not notice when Ernie feels left out of the discussion. When the Baxter Branch of the Superheroes Society meets, Ernie’s ennui becomes obvious. Valiant Vera (the bravest and fastest superhero) throws down the gauntlet and bans the argumentative aces until they can work together. Decorated with frequent humorous black-and-white illustrations of winsome animals and adults in leotards, this offering is just right for readers ready for the challenge of a chapter book. Sibling conflict, animals and superheroes are all high on the interest level of young readers, making this a series to watch. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5368-4
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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