WHERE FIREFLIES DANCE/AHI, DONDE BAILAN LAS LUCIÉRNAGAS

bookshelf

WHERE FIREFLIES DANCE/AHI, DONDE BAILAN LAS LUCIÉRNAGAS

Name: WHERE FIREFLIES DANCE/AHI, DONDE BAILAN LAS LUCIÉRNAGAS
Author: Lucha Corpi
ISBN: 0-89239-145-6

by Lucha Corpi & illustrated by Mira Reisberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1997

bookshelf

The CIP data calls this bilingual tale fiction, but Corpi's afterword places the story ``where imagination and memory blend.'' She recalls a night during her childhood, in the small Mexican town of J†ltipan, when she and her older brother, Victor, explored a ruined house, once home of the revolutionary fighter Juan Sebasti†n. Learning his story from her grandmother, Corpi was introduced to the idea of personal destiny and was inspired to seek her own. That destiny led her away from J†ltipan to California, but the final page tells of her singing and telling stories to her own son, just as she was sung to as a child. It's a wonderful evocation of the early experiences and family love that give a child both roots and wings, but the Spanish version of the text is often more vivid than the English. On the first page, ``las luciÇrnagas danzaban al ritmo del viento nocturno'' (literally, ``the fireflies danced to the rhythm of the night wind''), is rendered prosaically as ``fireflies danced in the night air.'' In the intensely tropical-colored paintings, cats are purple, memories are turquoise, and a many-hued bus announces that its destination is ``El Mundo'' (``The World''). Fireflies and a number of photographs (presumably of Corpi's family) figure into the illustrations, each of which has a uniquely appropriate border. (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-89239-145-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Children's Book Press

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1997

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE TRIPLE BANANA SPLIT BOY/EL NIÑO GOLOSO
by Lucha Corpi & illustrated by Lisa Fields

bookshelf

RIVER STORY

by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Bee Willey ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2000

bookshelf

Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)

Pub Date: June 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
CELEBRITY CAT
by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Bee Willey

- BOOK REVIEW
GOLD QUEST
by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Stephen Biesty

- BOOK REVIEW
STEPHEN BIESTY’S CASTLES
by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Stephen Biesty

bookshelf

KEENA FORD AND THE FIELD TRIP MIX-UP

by Melissa Thomson and illustrated by Frank Morrison ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2009

bookshelf

Keena Ford’s second-grade class is taking a field trip to the United States Capitol. This good-hearted girl works hard to behave, but her impulsive decisions have a way of backfiring, no matter how hard she tries to do the right thing. In this second book in a series, Keena cuts off one of her braids and later causes a congressman to fall down the stairs. The first-person journal format is a stretch—most second graders can barely write, let alone tell every detail of three days of her life. Children will wonder how Keena can cut one of her “two thick braids” all the way off by pretend-snipping in the air. They will be further confused because the cover art clearly shows Keena with a completely different hairdo on the field trip than the one described. Though a strong African-American heroine is most welcome in chapter books and Keena and her family are likable and realistic, this series needs more polish before Keena writes about her next month in school. (Fiction. 6-9)