Mollel (Kitoto the Mighty, 1998, etc.) skillfully reshapes this African tale about a magical bird that defeats a cow-stealing monster. Mariamu’s family can’t understand why their cattle are disappearing. One day, when clearing a field to grow food, Mariamu hears a magical bird singing. The bird tells her if she will spare the land (and the bird’s eggs), the bird will help restore milk to Mariamu’s family. Mariamu agrees, and the magical bird brings back the original field, and fills all the jugs and gourds with milk. Then Mariamu’s parents get greedy, capturing the bird while visions of an endless milk supply dance in their heads. Mariamu, of course, rescues the bird, and it is so grateful that it leads the girl to the monster who has stolen all the cows; together they rescue the cattle. Mollel includes words in Swahili and some excellent sound effects: “birim” for the sound of empty gourds rolling, “gulum” for the sound of swallowing. This fleshing out of the old tale and Litzinger’s spry, expressive watercolors make a vibrant presentation, ideal for noisy story-hour reenactment. (Picture book/folklore. 5-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 22, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-82908-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
This latest Froggy title (Froggy Goes to School, 1996, etc.) is utterly unfocused, with the star careening from soccer dolt to Mr. Superkick. Froggy’s team has a big game coming up with the Wild Things, and he is trying to remember the mantra his father, and assistant coach, taught him: “Head it! Boot it! Knee it! Shoot it! But don’t use your hands!” But illegally touching the ball seems to be the least of Froggy’s worries; distraction is his problem. He is so busy turning cartwheels, tying his shoes, and more, that the only time he makes contact with the ball is when it bounces off his head by mistake. Then, when the Wild Things make a breakaway, Froggy has some dazzling moves to avert a score, but forgetfully grabs the ball at the last second. The other team gets a penalty kick, converts it, but then Froggy makes a field-long kick for a game-winning score. London forces Froggy into too many guises—the fool, the hero, the klutz, the fancy dancer—but none of them stick. Remkiewicz’s illustrations have charm; it is in their appeal that this book will find its audience. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-88257-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
From Johnston (An Old Shell, 1999, etc.), poetic phrases that follow a ghostly barn owl through days and nights, suns and moons. Barn owls have been nesting and roosting, hunting and hatching in the barn and its surroundings for as long as the barn has housed spiders, as long as the wheat fields have housed mice, “a hundred years at least.” The repetition of alliterative words and the hushed hues of the watercolors evoke the soundless, timeless realm of the night owl through a series of spectral scenes. Short, staccato strings of verbs describe the age-old actions and cycles of barn owls, who forever “grow up/and sleep/and wake/and blink/and hunt for mice.” Honey-colored, diffused light glows in contrast to the star-filled night scenes of barn owls blinking awake. A glimpse into the hidden campestral world of the elusive barn owl. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-88106-981-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
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