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SOSU’S CALL

Name: SOSU’S CALL
Author: Meshack Asare
ISBN: 1-929132-21-2

by Meshack Asare & illustrated by Meshack Asare ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2002

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Originally published in 1997 in Ghana, this well-meaning but predictable story concerns a disabled boy who saves his village during a great storm by crawling to find a talking drum that will call the villagers back from the fields. Sosu’s life is circumscribed by his lack of a wheelchair, which a grateful town finally secures for him as a reward for his brave actions. It is also limited because of traditional attitudes toward the disabled. Some people feel that he will bring bad luck to the local fishing industry or are terrified of his appearance. The sketchy, somber watercolors relying on a brown and tan palette brighten at the end as Sosu’s life changes with his newly found mobility and acceptance by his neighbors. Set in a nameless West African village, this purposeful picture book may encourage discussion about living conditions for disabled children in countries around the world, but it has little appeal for the young recreational reader. Nonetheless, due to its universally important theme, the book is the winner of the 1999 UNESCO Prize for Children’s and Young People’s Literature in the Service of Tolerance and a 2001 IBBY Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities Award. (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: March 1, 2002

ISBN: 1-929132-21-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Kane Miller

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
BURY MY BONES BUT KEEP MY WORDS
edited by Tony Fairman & illustrated by Meshack Asare

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RAPUNZEL

adapted by Rachel Isadora & illustrated by Rachel Isadora ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2008

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Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-0-399-24772-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
DO I HAVE TO WEAR A COAT?
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora

- BOOK REVIEW
MY DOG LAUGHS
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora

- BOOK REVIEW
I JUST WANT TO SAY GOOD NIGHT
by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora

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BUBBA, THE COWBOY PRINCE

A FRACTURED TEXAS TALE

by Helen Ketteman & illustrated by James Warhola ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1997

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A Cinderella parody features the off-the-wall, whang-dang Texas hyperbole of Ketteman (The Year of No More Corn, 1993, etc.) and the insouciance of Warhola, who proves himself only too capable of creating a fairy godcow; that she's so appealingly whimsical makes it easy to accept the classic tale's inversions. The protagonist is Bubba, appropriately downtrodden and overworked by his wicked stepdaddy and loathsome brothers Dwayne and Milton, who spend their days bossing him around. The other half of the happy couple is Miz Lurleen, who owns ``the biggest spread west of the Brazos.'' She craves male companionship to help her work the place, ``and it wouldn't hurt if he was cute as a cow's ear, either.'' There are no surprises in this version except in the hilarious way the premise plays itself out and in Warhola's delightful visual surprises. When Lurleen tracks the bootless Bubba down, ``Dwayne and Milton and their wicked daddy threw chicken fits.'' Bubba and babe, hair as big as a Texas sun, ride off to a life of happy ranching, and readers will be proud to have been along for the courtship. (Picture book/folklore. 6-8)