Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 4, 1995 TAG: 9506030009
SECTION: BOOK PAGE: F-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: REVIEWED BY PEGGY DAVIS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
By Keith Haring. Prestel. (price not listed).
This is a delightful form of scrapbook for "little" things designed by Keith Haring for a seventh birthday gift to Nina Clemente whose books this one copies. It's a book to use, write in, paste in, save in. Youngsters are urged to save little things - big things need a box - such a pictures of snowflakes or cut-outs from stickers or souvenirs from trips. Once the book is full of memories it will be priceless to the collector. This is a great idea that offers space for imagination.
Joseph: A Prairie Boy's Story.
By Jim McGugan. Illustrated by Murray Kimber. Ages 6-12. Chronicle Books. $11.95.
Jim McGugan has a special story to tell but the writing is either weak poetry or clumsy prose. Either is unlikely to reach the 6- to 12-year-old child even though the premise of the story is very interesting in a Willa Cather style. Joseph is a 14-year-old who is put in the primary row at school because of the language barrier. The reader is led to believe that the older classmates enjoy his humiliation but this point is not developed very well. A touching gift exchange ends the story. A thoughtful parent could use this book effectively to elaborate on the history of immigration to our country a century ago.
Murray Kimber's illustrations are rich in earth tones with strong accents of various blues. The pencil drawings add depth.
Cinderella.
By Charles Perrault and retold by Christine San Jose. Illustrated by Debrah Santini. All Ages. Boyds Mill Press. $14.95.
A story as familiar as Cinderella has to be a risk for any writers who dares to be a reteller. Christine San Jose has used an effective style to bring the story to life while preserving the most basic features of the original folk tale. The illustrations are an interesting mix of color prints and sepia tones. The book has especially elegant endpapers and book jacket. There's an extra message that less is more in dressing as well as behavior.
Catcher.
By Mia Wolff. No age given. Farrar Straus Giroux. $16.
Catcher refers to that key person on the other trapeze who makes the circus flying act work. This is a large book of intense colors that match the intense dedication that leads Mia to become a trapeze artist with Donna. The words are few but the story is rich to any who love the circus. Wolf does both the illustrations and the story. She is a former trapeze artist with the Big Apple Circus.
Knight-Time for Bridgette.
By Jim George. Enchante Publishing. No age given. $12.95.
It would appear that Jim George had more fun writing this book than the reader will have reading it. It's long; it's wordy; it's fun but hard to follow. I'm not sure what age child would stick with the story to get to the meaningful ending. An editor could have done wonders with this story of Bridgette the dragon and the knight and his horse. The pictures are dramatic, colorful and complementary of the story. Adults who enjoy childish humor may be the best customers.
The Whispering Cloth: A Refugee's Story.
Written by Pegi Deitz Shea. Illustrated by Anita Riggio. Ages 3-8. Boyds Mill Press. $14.95.
This refugee's story reminds us how well we live in this country in spite of any minor discomfort or worries we may have about taxes, the national debt, abuse and mismanagement. Those are minor when we read about living in a refugee camp for 17 years. Pegi Deitz Shea has taken the personal experience of visiting the Ban Vinai refugee camp in Thailand and turned it into a heart-rending story.
Anita Riggio has used her artistic talents to give the pictures the look of stitches. The Whispering Cloth is a Pa'ndau or embroidered tapestry that relates a story. Mai is a child who has only her grandmother for family. While waiting in the refugee camp for a chance to resettle, she listens to her grandma and the other widows talk about their lives back in Laos, and their grandmothers' lives in China 100 years ago. She uses their stories and her memories to stitch her own Pa'ndau hoping the traders will pay enough for her to join her cousins in America. The acknowledgements, glossary and foreword are vital to the story and present an educational premise that is valuable on its own merit. "The Whispering Cloth" would be beneficial reading for anyone, not just the 3- to 8-year-olds.
Peggy Davis reviews books regularly for this page.
by CNB