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INKISHU

Name: INKISHU
Author: Kioi wa Mbugua
ISBN: 9966-884-97-1

MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE MAASAI

adapted by Kioi wa Mbugua & illustrated by Kahare Miano & Samwel Ngoje ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1994

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Inkishu (cattle), which are the measure of wealth for traditional Maasai, figure prominently in this collection of poetry, stories, and art from a publisher based in Nairobi. Four folktales collected from a Maasai elder illuminate relationships between his people and the world around them: how God (Enkai) first gave them cattle and forced them to stop their wars; how ``Enaiminie Enkiyio,'' the Forest of the Lost Child, earned its melancholy name; how Ole Partukei, a savage, greedy giant, broke a promise to leave his neighbors' herds alone and so died. The language is formal but not stiff. Each story is illustrated by a different Kenyan artist working in a free-flowing modern style and a variety of media and is prefaced by a color photo, an explanatory ``Preamble,'' and one or two short poems. Ideas old and new mix revealingly in this handsomely produced glimpse into the heart of a living traditional culture. Biographical sketches; glossary. (Folklore. 9+)

Pub Date: April 1, 1994

ISBN: 9966-884-97-1

Page Count: 73

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1994

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL SCIENCES

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CITY OF ANGELS

by Julie Jaskol & Brian Lewis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

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Whirls of tiny, brightly dressed people’some with wings—fill Kleven’s kaleidoscopic portraits of sun-drenched Los Angeles neighborhoods and landmarks; the Los Angeles—based authors supply equally colorful accounts of the city’s growth, festivals, and citizens, using an appended chronology to squeeze in a few more anecdotes. As does Kathy Jakobsen’s My New York (1998), Jaskol and Lewis’s book captures a vivid sense of a major urban area’s bustle, diversity, and distinctive character; young Angelenos will get a hearty dose of civic pride, and children everywhere will find new details in the vibrant illustrations at every pass. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-525-46214-7

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL SCIENCES

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NICKOMMOH!

A THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION

by Jackie French Koller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

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Koller (Bouncing on the Bed, p. 143, etc.) portrays a Narragansett nickommoh, or celebratory gathering, from which it is very likely the tradition of Thanksgiving was drawn. As explained in an exemplary note—brief, clear, interesting—at the end of the book, these gatherings occurred 13 times a year, once each lunar month. The harvest gathering is one of the larger gatherings: a great lodge was built, copious food was prepared, and music and dance extended deep into the night. Koller laces the text with a good selection of Narragansett words, found in the glossary (although there is no key to pronunciation, even for words such as Taqountikeeswush and Puttuckquapuonck). The text is written as a chanted prose poem, with much repetition, which can be both incantatory and hackneyed, as when “frost lies thick on the fields at dawn, and the winged ones pass overhead in great numbers.” Mostly the phrases are stirring—as are Sewall’s scratchboard evocations—and often inspirational—for this nickommoh puts to shame what has become known as the day before the launch of the holiday shopping season. (Picture book. 6-9)