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TUKAMA TOOTLES THE FLUTE

Name: TUKAMA TOOTLES THE FLUTE
Author: Phillis Gershator
ISBN: 0-531-06811-0

A TALE FROM THE ANTILLES

adapted by Phillis Gershator & illustrated by Synthia Saint James ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1994

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From St. Thomas, a cautionary tale about a heedless boy who narrowly escapes being eaten by a two-headed giant when he beguiles the giant's wife with his music. The story will need introducing, since neither title nor jacket painting hint of the drama within; it's a wonderful read- or tell-aloud, with colloquial dialogue, lots of repetition, and a satisfying symmetry in the way Tukama is lured, step by step, into the giant's clutches (``Get on my big toe, and play that song for me again.'' ``Jump on my knee.'' ``Climb up on my chest, and play that song louder''), and then, bit by bit, persuades the giant's wife to let him out of the bag in which he's imprisoned. Tukama's bouncy little songs are repeated so often that listeners will quickly learn them. Saint James's oil paintings combine large areas of bold, uninflected color, figures with featureless faces, and parallel brushstrokes suggesting palm fronds, light-flecked ocean billows, and jumbled rocks. An outstanding introduction to a less well-known folklore. Endnote on sources and local references. (Folklore/Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-531-06811-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orchard

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1994

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR A BATH
by Phillis Gershator ; illustrated by David Walker

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR A HUG
by Phillis Gershator & Mim Green & illustrated by David Walker

- BOOK REVIEW
MOO, MOO, BROWN COW! HAVE YOU ANY MILK?
by Phillis Gershator & illustrated by Giselle Potter

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THE SOMEDAY HOUSE

by Anne Shelby & illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1996

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This flight of imagination by Shelby (Homeplace, 1995, etc.) has a poignant cast. ``Someday,'' promises the narrator, ``we'll live in a house on a mountain. We'll sit on the roof and fill the sky with bubbles.'' ``Someday, we'll live in a house by the sea,'' or above a bakery, underground, even in space, and somehow, the melancholy implication is that there is no home just now. Folding warm colors together, Litzinger gives her paintings a cheerful aspect that lightens the tone rather than fighting it; three children, each with a different skin color, smile, and play in and around a small house that is adapted to different situations and is last seen with DNA-like strings of extra rooms twisting above the roof. Pair this with Eve Bunting's Fly Away Home (1991) or Elizabeth Hathorn's Way Home (1994) to set younger readers thinking. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: March 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-531-09510-X

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orchard

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE MAN WHO LIVED IN A HOLLOW TREE
by Anne Shelby and illustrated by Cor Hazelaar

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ADVENTURES OF MOLLY WHUPPIE
by Anne Shelby & illustrated by Paula McArdle

- BOOK REVIEW
HOMEPLACE
by Anne Shelby & illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin

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A WEED IS A SEED

by Ferida Wolff & illustrated by Janet Pedersen ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996

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In a rhyming book, Wolff (The Emperor's Garden, 1994, etc.) looks at everyday things from opposing points of view. A person may think, ``A weed is a seed/that just doesn't belong/in the place where it happens to grow.'' To a hungry mouse, though, the weed is a welcome meal. Rain spoils a picnic but waters a farmer's crops. Leaves are a nuisance to rake but fun to jump in. Wolff's verse sings right along, drawing comparisons until readers will be ready to jump in with their own dual observations. In her first book, Pedersen offers lighthearted watercolors that play up the humor of the contrasts, cartoonish without ever lapsing into silliness. Jolly. (Picture book. 4-7)