PLB 0-688-12516-6 This lovely tale retold by the daughter of the illustrators comes from the Drung tribe of China’s Yunnan Province. The story depicts two lands divided by a river, one of which is the bewitched and beautiful land of the jealous goddess Qin, protected by the white tiger and blue serpent and never visited by the people on the other side, humble peasants who count in their number a young boy named Kai and his mother, a master weaver. Kai would like to be able to keep one of her gorgeous brocades, and so he and his mother make a pact; she will weave the most glorious brocade, but during the thousand days she works on it, Kai will have to provide for them. By dint of hard work, Kai fulfills his promise, and so does his mother, but before they can enjoy the brocade, Qin works her wiles to snatch it away. Kai pursues it, facing the tiger and serpent, while the story folds back on itself in a delightful spray of magic. The narrative has an elegant, aged feeling to it, as though it has been burnished by so many retellings. The illustrators’ Ming-influenced artwork works admirably as a setting for the story. (Picture book/folklore. 6-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-12515-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999
Lunge-Larsen and Preus debut with this story of a flower that blooms for the first time to commemorate the uncommon courage of a girl who saves her people from illness. The girl, an Ojibwe of the northern woodlands, knows she must journey to the next village to get the healing herb, mash-ki- ki, for her people, who have all fallen ill. After lining her moccasins with rabbit fur, she braves a raging snowstorm and crosses a dark frozen lake to reach the village. Then, rather than wait for morning, she sets out for home while the villagers sleep. When she loses her moccasins in the deep snow, her bare feet are cut by icy shards, and bleed with every step until she reaches her home. The next spring beautiful lady slippers bloom from the place where her moccasins were lost, and from every spot her injured feet touched. Drawing on Ojibwe sources, the authors of this fluid retelling have peppered the tale with native words and have used traditional elements, e.g., giving voice to the forces of nature. The accompanying watercolors, with flowing lines, jewel tones, and decorative motifs, give stately credence to the story’s iconic aspects. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-90512-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999
This vibrant, thoughtful book from Katz (Over the Moon, 1997) continues her tribute to her adopted daughter, Lena, born in Guatemala. Lena is “seven. I am the color of cinnamon. Mom says she could eat me up”; she learns during a painting lesson that to get the color brown, she will have to “mix red, yellow, black, and white paints.” They go for a walk to observe the many shades of brown: they see Sonia, who is the color of creamy peanut butter; Isabella, who is chocolate brown; Lucy, both peachy and tan; Jo-Jin, the color of honey; Kyle, “like leaves in fall”; Mr. Pellegrino, the color of pizza crust, golden brown. Lena realizes that every shade is beautiful, then mixes her paints accordingly for portraits of her friends—“The colors of us!” Bold illustrations celebrate diversity with a child’s open-hearted sensibility and a mother’s love. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8050-5864-8
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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