Sonam is the young girl who narrates the story of her escape from Tibet, along with two sisters, over the Himalayan Mountains to a better life in India. Basing her story on interviews—and well-documented by Johnson's striking full-color photographs—Dolphin (Georgia to Georgia, 1991, etc.) follows the girls on this journey: They are first concealed in trucks amidst bags of salt, then travel on foot (wearing only canvas shoes) across the snow-covered mountains, and finally go by bus to Dharamsala, India, where the Dalai Lama has established a government-in-exile. Although the children's story is inherently dramatic and moving, the first-person narration is distracting: It never sounds like a child's voice, but an adult's, and the inclusion of historical information compounds the problem. Readers won't know whether Sonam is retracing her journey in the photographs, if Johnson is staging a reenactment, or if author and photographer were along for the original journey—which would be rather heartless, given the hardships involved for the children. Nevertheless, it's an informative and attractive volume, and certain to make children aware of the tragedy of Tibetan culture, and the efforts undertaken to preserve it. With a letter from the Dalai Lama, and an afterword. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-525-45577-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Kay debuts with a rollicking tale about an idealistic farmer’s quest for gold and glory during the gold rush of 1849. Jasper’s dreams of discovering gold lead him on a journey westward, leaving farm and family behind. However, Jasper is dismayed at the hardships he encounters while searching for the elusive metal. Albeit brief, Kay’s minimalist verses, set in sing-song rhymes, convey their message with piercing clarity. “Icy water,/Wet feet, cold./Sluicing, panning,/‘Where’s the gold?’/Grumpy miners,/Nuggets’small/Jasper scowling,/Fireside brawl.” Increasingly disgruntled and disillusioned, Jasper has a close encounter with a rattlesnake that prompts his return home. Back in the cozy comfort of his farm, the resilient Jasper benignly waves on other aspiring miners, wishing them well. Kay realistically depicts the wild expectations that caused so many to abandon their way of life to gamble on a long shot and the often harsh conditions they encountered in California. Schindler’s detailed illustrations, executed in colored pencil, provide readers with a glimpse into a forty-niner’s world. As an introduction to a vital piece of American history, it’s wryly humorous and unflinchingly candid. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-399-23027-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wholesome family values are served up in this story of one family's survival of the great flood of the Midwest in 1993. Sarajean is as tenacious as her grandmother in her resistance to the rising waters of her beloved Mississippi. When possessions, including Sarajean's dog, are moved to higher ground, her family staunchly ``camps out'' on the second story to weather the storm. When the levee breaks, they are forced to evacuate. In true Laura Ingalls Wilder style, they learn the true meaning of home. This is not high-action disaster drama; it is social commentary via the portrait of an individual family's efforts and contribution within a community. Appropriately dull grays and blues convey the damp, dreary heaviness of the skies and water-soaked landscape in a much more serious take on floods than found in George Ella Lyon's lively Come a Tide (1990). Although the home-is-where-the-heart-is message is heavy-handed, it's also enduring. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-688-13919-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1997
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