by Theresa Heine & illustrated by Sheila Moxley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2004
When young Ravi and Anjali ask their recently arrived grandfather what India is like, he answers in metaphor: the sun is a ferocious tiger, the wind can stamp and snort like a wild horse, monsoon rains are as silver as bangles, the ensuing rainbow “is seven silk saris hung across the sky to dry.” As the extended immigrant family goes about its daily routines, he also recalls celebrations of Divaali, capped by a parade of elephants. Moxley depicts scenes from both old country and (unspecified) new, featuring dark-skinned figures in a mix of contemporary and traditional dress. Literal-minded children may get more assignment-style information from the likes of Prodeepta Das’s I Is for India (1998), but, like Ruth Jeyaveeran’s Road to Mumbai (p. 687), this subtly conveys India’s sounds, sights, tastes, rhythms, and the diversity within its commonalities. (simplified map, notes on food, animals, religion, geography) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-84148-917-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2004
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by Theresa Heine ; illustrated by Judith Gueyfier
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by Theresa Heine & illustrated by Victor Tavares
by Irene Smalls ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999
There is something profoundly elemental going on in Smalls’s book: the capturing of a moment of unmediated joy. It’s not melodramatic, but just a Saturday in which an African-American father and son immerse themselves in each other’s company when the woman of the house is away. Putting first things first, they tidy up the house, with an unheralded sense of purpose motivating their actions: “Then we clean, clean, clean the windows,/wipe, wipe, wash them right./My dad shines in the windows’ light.” When their work is done, they head for the park for some batting practice, then to the movies where the boy gets to choose between films. After a snack, they work their way homeward, racing each other, doing a dance step or two, then “Dad takes my hand and slows down./I understand, and we slow down./It’s a long, long walk./We have a quiet talk and smile.” Smalls treats the material without pretense, leaving it guileless and thus accessible to readers. Hays’s artwork is wistful and idyllic, just as this day is for one small boy. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-316-79899-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson
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by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson
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by Irene Smalls & illustrated by Colin Bootman
by Allen Say ; illustrated by Allen Say ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999
In describing how his parents met, Say continues to explore the ways that differing cultures can harmonize; raised near San Francisco and known as May everywhere except at home, where she is Masako, the child who will grow up to be Say’s mother becomes a misfit when her family moves back to Japan. Rebelling against attempts to force her into the mold of a traditional Japanese woman, she leaves for Osaka, finds work as a department store translator, and meets Joseph, a Chinese businessman who not only speaks English, but prefers tea with milk and sugar, and persuades her that “home isn’t a place or a building that’s ready-made or waiting for you, in America or anywhere else.” Painted with characteristic control and restraint, Say’s illustrations, largely portraits, begin with a sepia view of a sullen child in a kimono, gradually take on distinct, subdued color, and end with a formal shot of the smiling young couple in Western dress. A stately cousin to Ina R. Friedman’s How My Parents Learned To Eat (1984), also illustrated by Say. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-90495-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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