An atmospheric introduction to an ancient culture and some of the oldest and most remote art on Earth.
Collaborating with a professional illustrator and a group of children, an Australian Ngarluma filmmaker commemorates in three short episodes his people’s 15,000-year history in petroglyph-rich Murujaga (Burrup Peninsula).
The sequential scenes—redrawn by Campbell from photos of local actors shot on site and digitally colored by the children—are done in a flat, naturalistic style with occasional animations or visual transitions added. In the first, earliest story, Mararra (“first born son”) kills a marndanyingu (kangaroo) in his first hunt. The second, which takes place just after the latest ice age, features another young hunter who bags a thathurgga (sea turtle) to feed his family. Both hunters celebrate their achievements by carving petroglyphs that, in the final episode, leave a modern lad awestruck: “How long have our people been here?” “Ngurrara,” his adult companion replies, “we were always here.” Tapping on the spare lines of text activates both a multivoiced audio and translations for embedded Ngarluma words. A short “making of” video is appended, along with commentary by Mowarin about the precious, poorly protected site and a “rock” drawing board on which readers can scrape their own (savable, sendable) pictures. It’s a little on the rough side, as the plots are rudimentary and the background wind and electronic music are set so loud that it’s sometimes hard to make out the dialogue. Nevertheless, overall this collective project conveys distinct senses of place and of deep roots.
An atmospheric introduction to an ancient culture and some of the oldest and most remote art on Earth. (iPad storybook app. 6-9)Pub Date: June 20, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: BighART
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2014
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class announcing: “I’m your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything.” Everything about her is unusual and mysterious—her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince’s palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are “absolutely true.” Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher’s lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of “how a story is made” titles. Gooney Bird’s stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children’s fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-23848-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
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