SONGS IN THE SHADE OF THE CASHEW AND COCONUT TREES

Name: SONGS IN THE SHADE OF THE CASHEW AND COCONUT TREES
Author: Nathalie Soussana
ISBN: 978-2-924744-53-3

LULLABIES AND NURSERY RHYMES FROM WEST AFRICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

by Nathalie Soussana & Jean-Christophe Hoarau ; illustrated by Judith Gueyfier ; translated by Hélène Roulston & David Lytle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019

Readers will dance in their dreams.

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A chorus of drums, woodwinds, strings, creoles and indigenous languages will delight the ears at bedtime.

The rich sounds collected by Soussana travel between the West African coast and the Caribbean. From the dark and painful history of slavery and colonization, these lullabies give melody and rhythm to cultural values, traditions, fables, and familial struggles shared by the diaspora. “Lóba” speaks of the wonders of nature and calls on the people to protect it. “Oyiri Marie” tells the story of a hairdresser and a man who turns into a lion. In “Hormiguita Retozona,” an ant has every excuse not to help her mother do chores. The book provides further education on the languages spoken and a map of the countries represented; accompanying each song are the lyrics in both English and the original language, along with beautiful illustrations by Gueyfier. African and Afro-Caribbean children adorned in bright prints and patterns dance, play, sleep, and sing across the pages. Other songs have images of indigenous flora and fauna, city skylines, the sea, and the forest. The vibrant colors mirror the diversity of each country and ethnic group, and the tunes are catchy and easy to hum.

Readers will dance in their dreams. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-2-924744-53-3

Page Count: 80

Publisher: The Secret Mountain

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
SONGS ON THE VANILLA TRAIL
by Nathalie Soussana ; illustrated by Magali Attiogbé ; translated by David Lytle & Hélène Roulston

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MY FIRST CODING BOOK

by Kiki Prottsman ; illustrated by Molly Lattin ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 4, 2017

Clear, age-appropriate, and durable—the best way to get a young coder started—without screen time.

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Coding principles are gamified with tabs and flaps.

Topic by topic in double-page spreads, this book tackles the fundamental concepts and logic of computer programing, with playful interactions that vary appropriately. The game for “decomposing,” an essential skill, has durable flaps with answers for questions posed about what steps are needed for a task. The “algorithm” spread explains the way computers interpret commands with comical illustrations of what happens when there are missing steps or insufficient detail. A cupcake-making machine with flaps that reveal whether a part in the illustration is functioning or buggy explains “debugging,” and so on. Each interaction suits its given topic remarkably well. An IF- and ELSE-statement explains conditionals with a treasure-hunt flap game that has surprising replayability. In the variables game, the book’s most complicated, readers time themselves counting up objects worth different point values via a spinning wheel and lift a tab to see if they were correct. Throughout, “Code Word” sidebars and other explanations are provided by pixelated humans of all genders and skin tones, and the game art is a bubbly cartoon style.

Clear, age-appropriate, and durable—the best way to get a young coder started—without screen time. (glossary, index) (Informational novelty. 3-7)

Pub Date: July 4, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4654-5973-2

Page Count: 24

Publisher: DK Publishing

Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
CODING WITH ANNA AND ELSA
by Kiki Prottsman ; illustrated by Disney Storybook Artists

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THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA

From the Once Upon a World series

by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 2017

A nice addition to the series.

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A retelling of the well-known Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale with a Russian setting.

The Once Upon a World series travels the globe setting familiar Western fairy tales in different locales. This latest addition to the series is set in Russia and tells the story of the “lonely young prince who wanted to fall in love” and of his parents’ insistence that the bride-to-be be a princess. After traveling far and wide and meeting many princesses who are not right for him, the prince returns home, disappointed. One rainy evening, a wet and cold, dark-haired princess appears at the castle door. Refreshingly, the prince and princess fall in love not because they are a prince and princess but because they have talked and found they have much in common: they have traveled widely, explored the same places, and had adventures. Mirtalipova’s illustrations have a pleasing folksy feel, many pages decorated with pretty flowery borders. One double-page spread of the princess being taken care of by a host of servants is particularly appealing. (With the exception of one brown-skinned princess, all the characters are white.) Though the text has been simplified and the presentation is in board-book format, the intended audience is not the toddler set. And the prince and princess? As with the traditional telling, the princess passes the pea test and they live happily ever after.

A nice addition to the series. (Board book. 3-5)