Lush, deeply imagined paintings can't quite carry the didactic storyline in this tale from the creator of My Dream of Martin Luther King (1995). Lonnie, an orphaned African-American boy with the red hair and green eyes of his mixed heritage, is transported back to Paris during the first world war by l'Oiseau d'Amour—the Love Bird. This magical creature shows him how his grandfather of the 369th infantry, the ``Harlem Hell Fighters,'' met his red-haired French grandmother; and how their son, Lonnie's father, died in WW II. Claudine, his green-eyed, Jewish mother, was lost to the Nazis and Lonnie was smuggled away. The spirits of his ancestors—with connections to the Harlem Renaissance, the black Parisian community, and the French Resistance, among others—fade away, leaving Lonnie no longer orphaned but with loving stepparents (first met in Ringgold's Dinner at Aunt Connie's House, 1993). Ringgold's acrylic paintings will tug at anyone who has seen—or wants to see—Paris; their intense colors, stylized figures, and beautiful use of pattern draw the viewers in again and again. The complicated, though well-intentioned, story, with its layers of history and magical realism, may elude younger readers and leave older ones confused. (glossary, bibliography) (Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-7868-0076-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
At ``Step 2'' in the useful ``Step into Reading'' series: an admirably clear, well-balanced presentation that centers on wolves' habits and pack structure. Milton also addresses their endangered status, as well as their place in fantasy, folklore, and the popular imagination. Attractive realistic watercolors on almost every page. Top-notch: concise, but remarkably extensive in its coverage. A real bargain. (Nonfiction/Easy reader. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-91052-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
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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