The monthlong Carnival celebrations in Ponce, a coastal town in southern Puerto Rico, as experienced by a boy who lives in a very modest barrio. Secretly, Ram¢n has made a costume and ordered a colorful, grotesquely horned papier-mÉchÇ mask so that he can join the other boys and men who travel the streets, playing tricks on bystanders. These masqueraders are named for the balloon-like vejigas they carry—brightly painted, inflated cows' bladders, sometimes filled with pebbles or beans to create noisemakers. Ram¢n's story is affectingly told in both English (black) and Spanish (blue), with bright, mixed-media pictures; what's lacking is any explanation of Carnival or the origin and significance of the devil-like masqueraders, or why—only in Ponce—the vejigantes frolic for an entire month. Several pages at the end contain information about other masqueraders in Spain and Latin America, directions for making a vejigante mask, and some of the vejigantes' chants; an added fillip is the inclusion of 28 well-hidden lizards (one for each February day) in the pictures. Admirable in bringing an unfamiliar custom to life, but without enough background to fully understand it. Short glossary; bibliography. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-590-45776-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1993
On their first day of school, little witch Dorrie and her friends find Professor Zucchini mysteriously absent. Unfazed, they poke about among his charms and potions and unexpectedly raise the schoolhouse aloft. A second spell returns the good professor to himself, and he's able to get them all back to earth—and in a more convenient location, too. With lively, humorous illustrations in full color and an easily read text, a welcome addition to a popular series. (Fiction/Young reader. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 21, 1992
ISBN: 0-395-60116-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1992
It's time to make latkes for Hanukkah, and Molly is finally old enough to help, to learn her grandma's secret recipe (reprinted at the end), and to hear the story of the miraculous oil. Chwast's large painted woodcuts have an appropriately domestic look, with figures from past and present similarly rendered, thus linking eras. Grandma's facts aren't completely straight—the ancient Jews didn't cultivate potatoes; still, a fine introduction to the celebration and background of this holiday. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-15-200468-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1992
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