A small, intense, original tale that links art, faith, and natural cycles. The women of South Africa’s rural Besotho people paint bright designs on their houses in silent prayer to their ancestors for rain. In the midst of a long drought, young Elsina’s plea to be allowed to paint over her mothers patterns is gently rejected, as rain is supposed to wash the house clean first. Then a new baby, and a new room added to the house, gives Elsina her chance. In Winter’s small, controlled illustrations, Elsina’s careful scenes of clouds and crops differ from, but harmonize beautifully with, her mother’s abstract geometrical designs. And, in time, the rains return, earning Elsina permission to paint—and repaint, as seasons pass—the entire dwelling. “We live in plenty,” she concludes. “The ancestors listen.” Like the child in Catherine Stock’s Gugu’s House (2001), or Patricia Markun’s Little Painter of Sabaña Grande (1993), Elsina is both allowed to express her artistic talent, and respected by her elders for it—wisdom in any society. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-374-32118-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Macdonald (Lots of O'Learys, 1994, etc.) hits the mark with this offering in the Chapters series of books. Francie wants to have the next meeting of the second-grade Comics Club at her house, but she has no privacy; with six kids in her family, including infant twins, the house is too crowded. She hopes to transform the old toolshed out back into a meeting place, but has no time to fix it up and only one friend to help her. Clear conflict, good pacing, and solid characterizations will keep new readers turning the pages, even if the references to comic strips are somewhat dated. Christelow's black-and-white illustrations are a good complement to the tale, making the lighthearted text even more accessible to new and reluctant readers. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-7868-0032-1
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The Billy-Goats-Gruff, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and more of the usual suspects play out their tales on some of Great Britain's historic sites and estates: Stowe, the Giant's Causeway, Kedleston in Derby, the ``Bear's Hut'' on the grounds of Killeston, the garden tower at Cornwall's Trelissick, and Chirk Castle. Penney (Ian Penney's Book of Nursery Rhymes, 1994, not reviewed, etc.) has done plenty of adapting—Rapunzel's tale begins in the tower, and Hansel and Gretel only lock the witch in her cellar until she promises to mend her ways, then settle in with her and their woodcutter father in the scrumptious home—but the tales are comfortably familiar, with all but two of the eight tied to recognizable, theoretically visitable places. Viewers will linger over Penney's tiny, finely brushed architectural details and flora and fauna (not to mention the luscious bush pastries that tempt Hansel and Gretel), though the great houses and their surroundings are only glimpsed. Some of the appeal will be wasted on American children, but travelers, even of the armchair variety, might give it a go. (Picture book/folklore. 7-9)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-8109-3740-9
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
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