Mvskoke/Creek poet Harjo celebrates the birth of a baby girl and offers guidance for a good life. Images spring from inspirations both natural—“Clouds peered over the mountains / in response to the singing of medicine plants”—and mechanical—“From your mother’s house we brought poetry, music … and a yard filled with junked cars and the gift of knowing how to make them run.” Advice ranges from the ethereal—“When you walk, remember the source of the gift of all walking”—to the practical—“Clean your room.” McDonald’s jewel-toned paintings (worked on wood panel in watercolor and pastel) swirl with color and play with imagery, effectively matching the poem’s tone but often only incompletely illustrating it: Framed in the outline of a crested bird, a sad young woman gazes out, with the silhouettes of branches and raindrops superimposed against a city at night; the text reads, in part, “There are treacherous places along the way, but you can come to us.” Visually and verbally lovely, if resolutely abstract—a picture book for teens, not young children. (Picture book. 12 & up)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8165-2797-7
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Univ. of Arizona
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
1882
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-82979-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1999
Big brother Duane is off in boot camp, and Justin is left trying to hold the parental units together. Fat, acne-ridden, and missing his best friend Ben, who’s in the throes of his first boy-girl relationship with Cass, Justin’s world is dreary. It gets worse when he realizes that all of his mother’s suspicions about his father are probably true, and that Dad may not return from his latest business trip. Surprisingly ultra-cool Jemmie, who is also missing her best friend, Cass, actually recognizes his existence and her grandmother invites Justin to use their piano in the afternoons when Jemmie’s at cross-country practice. The “big nothing” place, where Justin retreats in time of trouble, is a rhythmic world and soon begins to include melody and provide Justin with a place to express himself. Practice and discipline accompany this gradual exploration of his talent. The impending war in Iraq gives this story a definite place in time, and its distinct characters make it satisfying and surprisingly realistic. Misfit finds fit. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-56145-326-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2004
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