bookshelf

THE BUFFALO SOLDIER

Name: THE BUFFALO SOLDIER
Author: Sherry Garland
ISBN: 1-58980-391-4

by Sherry Garland & illustrated by Ronald Himler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2006

bookshelf

Eloquent for all its brevity, this fictional soldier’s reminiscence traces nearly the whole real history of the Buffalo Soldiers, from the Indian Wars to WWII, and is reinforced by both a meaty introduction and a closing bibliography. No longer a slave, but seeing no future in sharecropping, the narrator writes, “I walk to New Orleans and put by X on the line / when I hear tell the U.S. Army is looking for young Negro men / to serve on the Western frontier.” Through the course of a decades-long career, he faces challenges from a drill sergeant “mean as a skunk” to attacks by bandits and Apache while escorting surveyors and settlers, recalling good times and bad, and even a charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish American War. He closes with an old man’s ruminations on the familiar sounding complaints of his grandson, who writes from another war about mean sergeants and bad food: “I just have to smile, and nod my head. / You see, once I was a soldier, too.” Himler’s full-bleed western scenes add proper amounts of drama, touches of humor and natural-looking details to this engrossing tribute. (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-10)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2006

ISBN: 1-58980-391-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Pelican

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
VOICES OF THE WESTERN FRONTIER
by Sherry Garland ; illustrated by Julie Dupré Buckner

- BOOK REVIEW
CHILDREN OF THE DRAGON
by Sherry Garland & illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

- BOOK REVIEW
MY FATHER'S BOAT
by Sherry Garland & illustrated by Ted Rand

bookshelf

THE LION AND THE UNICORN

by Shirley Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999

bookshelf

From Hughes (Enchantment in the Garden, 1997, etc.), a WWII story with big ambitions—many of them realized’set out in the pages of an unusually long picture book. Lenny Levi lives in London with his mother during the Blitz, cherishing the letters from his father at the front, and the medal of the lion and the unicorn his father gave him. When Lenny is evacuated to the country, he finds himself at a huge old manor with three little girls, the lady of the house, and a few servants. He is lonely, teased at school and at home for not eating bacon and for bedwetting, but makes a friend of the young man with one leg he meets in the secret garden on the estate. The garden, thick with roses, also holds a beautiful statue of a unicorn like the one on his medal. As Lenny’s loneliness and fear spiral out of control, a night vision of the unicorn brings him back; his mother comes to take them both to his aunt in Wales, where his father will join them. The storyline, while straightforward, hints at difficult subjects—religious differences, amputees, separation, family disruptions, the terror of bombing, and more—which are then given only cursory treatment. The pictures are splendid: luminous, full-bodied watercolors that capture the horror of London burning, the glory of the countryside, and mists of dreams. It may be difficult for this to find its audience, but children too young for Michelle Magorian’s Good Night, Mr. Tom (1986) might be captured. (Picture book. 8-10)

Pub Date: April 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-7894-2555-6

Page Count: 60

Publisher: DK Publishing

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
RUBY IN THE RUINS
by Shirley Hughes ; illustrated by Shirley Hughes

- BOOK REVIEW
WHISTLING IN THE DARK
by Shirley Hughes

- BOOK REVIEW
DIGBY O'DAY AND THE GREAT DIAMOND ROBBERY
by Shirley Hughes ; illustrated by Clara Vulliamy

bookshelf

I WAS ONCE A MONKEY

STORIES BUDDHA TOLD

by Jeanne M. Lee ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 8, 1999

bookshelf

A book of the basic teachings of Buddha, presented through a collection of six classic, simple tales. When a monkey takes refuge from a monsoon in a cave, he happens upon a group of bickering animals—a monkey, lion, turtle, jackal, and dove. Before the fighting becomes too fierce, a small statue of Buddha begins to glow in the darkest corner. To pass the time—and to stop the fighting—wise Buddha spins enlightening stories of tolerance, endurance, sagacity, truthfulness, kindness, and clarity. Buddha recounts his past lives in many forms—from monkey to pigeon to willow tree—to his captive listeners. Such straightforward yet profound tales combine with the art and design for an example of bookmaking that is aesthetically pleasing in every way. Color-washed linoprints cleverly distinguish the stories from the black-and-white narrative frame, while an informative afterword offers brief background detail about Buddha and these six “birth stories” known as Jatakas. (Picture book/folklore. 4-7)