In a family memoir of the most affecting kind, readers are invited to a long-ago time in the Ozark Mountains and the story of a musician who owned “the clothes on his back and a fine old lionhead fiddle.” Fiddlin’ Sam is the inheritor of the peripatetic, minstrel’s life of his father, who taught Sam his art, saying, “This ain’t a gift, Son. It’s a loan. You gotta pass the music along.” Sam accepts the food that appreciative people give him, but politely refuses their offer of a bed. When a rattler bites him, Sam fears he has failed his calling; the music will die with him. In the feverish time that follows, someone takes care of him, a young man whom Sam hopes will take up the gift and carry it along—but the boy has other plans. In the years that follow, Sam meets another young man on the road who reminds him of the first one, and, indeed, is his son. Their path together lasts long enough for Sam to pass along his gift and its joys and burdens before he dies. An endpiece dedication allows readers to glimpse aspects of the story that are based in truth. A rhythmic refrain underscores the emotions of the story, and even acts as the vehicle of the ascension of Sam’s soul at death. Gerig’s watercolors deliver the scenic beauty of the region and carry their own version of a familial tribute. (Picture book. 4-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 10, 1999
ISBN: 0-87358-742-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Rising Moon
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
This tribute overflows with the gleeful, impassioned zest that is part and parcel of being a toddler. Comprised of 16 vignettes, readers can shimmy and shake with “Stomping Time,” learn about shapes and colors, twirl about, splash in a puddle, indulge in a temper tantrum (as is realistically re-enacted in the appropriately titled poem “NO!”) and much more, finally concluding with “ZZZZ,” which pays homage to bedtime restlessness. The crisp rhymes blend commonplace observances with a smattering of silliness: “Paddle in a pool,/surf in the sea./Dance through a sprinkler . . . /But no bath for me!” In short, Simon (The Topsy- Turvies, 1996, etc.) covers the minutiae of everyday life, the play that is frequently overlooked yet remains essential to learning. Soft pastel illustrations masterfully capture the facets of toddlerhood; children leap across the pages expressing every emotion of the text, stated or not. An exuberant celebration. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30120-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
PLB 0-688-16508-7 Buckley’s Josie, first spotted in 1962, is as sprightly as ever in Ormerod’s illustrations, nimbly eluding her family’s search. As Josie’s mother, father, and brother go looking for her around the house, they are accompanied by the musical wordplay: “Did she go inside the house—rosy house, posy house? Did she go inside the house? Is that where Josie is?” Readers can search along with Josie’s family, and will spy Josie’s legs under the table or behind a coat. Ormerod’s artwork is winsome, although the literalness of her visual narrative confines the poetry rather than liberating it. Yet the pulse of Buckley’s words is bewitching, and readers may even want to take them outside and jump rope to their beat: “Look! Is that a rosy nose, a dozy nose, a posy nose? And do you see two ribbon bows? Can you count? Are there ten toes?” (Picture book. 2-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16507-9
Page Count: 24
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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