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THE VILLAGE BASKET WEAVER

Name: THE VILLAGE BASKET WEAVER
Author: Jonathan London
ISBN: 0-525-45314-8

by Jonathan London & illustrated by George Crespo ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1996

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In the coastal village of Belize, a boy takes over the tradition of basket weaving when his beloved, infirm grandfather can no longer carry on. Grandfather Carpio laments to his grandson Tavio that young people no longer learn from the elders ``how to do the dances and sing the old songs.'' All the old ways, in fact, are in danger of being forgotten. The children of the village grow up and move to cities or go to work for companies that destroy the rain forest. Carpio is the only one who knows how to weave the new cassava squeezer that the village needs to make bread. During Carpio's last days, he teaches Tavio his trade, for the boy has decided to become the new village basket weaver. London (Fireflies, Fireflies, Light My Way, 1996, etc.) makes Tavio's decision inevitable but not predictable; Tavio is tugged, as readers will be, by the beauty of the old ways. Crespo effectively recreates the tropical warmth of the Caribbean—the waves seem to lap at the shores. A thoughtful tale about the importance of keeping traditions alive. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: June 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-525-45314-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
HERE COMES SHOPKEEPER HIPPO
by Jonathan London ; illustrated by Gilles Eduar

- BOOK REVIEW
HERE COMES TRUCK DRIVER HIPPO
by Jonathan London ; illustrated by Gilles Eduar

- BOOK REVIEW
FROGGY FOR PRESIDENT!
by Jonathan London ; illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

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BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL, STRONG LITTLE ME!

by Hannah Carmona Dias ; illustrated by Dolly Georgieva-Gode ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 2018

Mixed-race children certainly deserve mirror books, but they also deserve excellent text and illustrations. This one misses...

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This tan-skinned, freckle-faced narrator extols her own virtues while describing the challenges of being of mixed race.

Protagonist Lilly appears on the cover, and her voluminous curly, twirly hair fills the image. Throughout the rhyming narrative, accompanied by cartoonish digital illustrations, Lilly brags on her dark skin (that isn’t very), “frizzy, wild” hair, eyebrows, intellect, and more. Her five friends present black, Asian, white (one blonde, one redheaded), and brown (this last uses a wheelchair). This array smacks of tokenism, since the protagonist focuses only on self-promotion, leaving no room for the friends’ character development. Lilly describes how hurtful racial microaggressions can be by recalling questions others ask her like “What are you?” She remains resilient and says that even though her skin and hair make her different, “the way that I look / Is not all I’m about.” But she spends so much time talking about her appearance that this may be hard for readers to believe. The rhyming verse that conveys her self-celebration is often clumsy and forced, resulting in a poorly written, plotless story for which the internal illustrations fall far short of the quality of the cover image.

Mixed-race children certainly deserve mirror books, but they also deserve excellent text and illustrations. This one misses the mark on both counts. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-63233-170-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Eifrig

Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
DAZZLING TRAVIS
by Hannah Carmona Dias ; illustrated by Brenda Figueroa

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MIKE FINK

‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 21, 1992

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A tall-tale introduction to the ``King of the Keelboatmen,'' from the time he ran away from home at the age of two days to his literally explosive confrontation with steamboat captain Hilton B. Blathersby. The historical Fink was a cruel man who came to a violent end, but Kellogg depicts him as a friendly-looking, fun-loving youth; indeed, nearly all of the keelboatmen here- -black, white, old, and young—are smiling, clean-cut types, rather at odds with their usual roughneck image. Though Fink spends much of his time wrestling men or bears, Kellogg's description of him seems bland in comparison to his glowing, energetic illustrations, and less heroic than his other legendary figures. (Picture book/Folktale. 6-8)