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WHY GOATS SMELL BAD

Name: WHY GOATS SMELL BAD
Author: Raouf Mama
ISBN: 0-208-02469-7

AND OTHER STORIES FROM BENIN

adapted by Raouf Mama & translated by Raouf Mama & illustrated by Imna Arroyo ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 10, 1998

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A storyteller from the small West African country of Benin has gathered 20 folktales from the Fon people, presented in competent language that is not as felicitous when read aloud. A few of the selections have parallels in familiar storiese.g., ``The Prince and the Orphan'' is a Cinderella variant, and ``How Yogbo the Glutton Met His Death'' is close to Eric Kimmel's version of Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock (1988, not reviewed)but most will be new to general readers, and include a lively array of kings and queens, orphans, talking animals, sages, fools, tricksters, contests, journeys, transformations, twists, and salutary lessons. That last appears in notes that close each story, and although Mama's sources remain anonymous, he discusses his additions (several of which are substantial), plus an occasional distinctive folk custom or belief. A wide-ranging collection from an understudied tradition with, as Mama points out, strong links to African cultures on both sides of the Atlantic. (b&w illustrations, not seen) (Folklore. 10-13)

Pub Date: Feb. 10, 1998

ISBN: 0-208-02469-7

Page Count: 138

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL SCIENCES

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CITY OF ANGELS

by Julie Jaskol & Brian Lewis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

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Whirls of tiny, brightly dressed people’some with wings—fill Kleven’s kaleidoscopic portraits of sun-drenched Los Angeles neighborhoods and landmarks; the Los Angeles—based authors supply equally colorful accounts of the city’s growth, festivals, and citizens, using an appended chronology to squeeze in a few more anecdotes. As does Kathy Jakobsen’s My New York (1998), Jaskol and Lewis’s book captures a vivid sense of a major urban area’s bustle, diversity, and distinctive character; young Angelenos will get a hearty dose of civic pride, and children everywhere will find new details in the vibrant illustrations at every pass. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-525-46214-7

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL SCIENCES

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NICKOMMOH!

A THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION

by Jackie French Koller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

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Koller (Bouncing on the Bed, p. 143, etc.) portrays a Narragansett nickommoh, or celebratory gathering, from which it is very likely the tradition of Thanksgiving was drawn. As explained in an exemplary note—brief, clear, interesting—at the end of the book, these gatherings occurred 13 times a year, once each lunar month. The harvest gathering is one of the larger gatherings: a great lodge was built, copious food was prepared, and music and dance extended deep into the night. Koller laces the text with a good selection of Narragansett words, found in the glossary (although there is no key to pronunciation, even for words such as Taqountikeeswush and Puttuckquapuonck). The text is written as a chanted prose poem, with much repetition, which can be both incantatory and hackneyed, as when “frost lies thick on the fields at dawn, and the winged ones pass overhead in great numbers.” Mostly the phrases are stirring—as are Sewall’s scratchboard evocations—and often inspirational—for this nickommoh puts to shame what has become known as the day before the launch of the holiday shopping season. (Picture book. 6-9)