Showing posts with label Book: Kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book: Kids. Show all posts
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Book: Carnavalia!: African-brazilian Folklore And Crafts
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-This book offers three things in one: a fictionalized account of the Brazilian carnival that takes place between Christmas and Lent, illustrations of the event, and its crafts. An afterword explains the festival in the context of Brazil's history and culture. The main part of the book explores the relationship between seven-year-old Mourrice and his nanny. She explains the significance of the carnival and the boy observes its songs, dances, and costumes. Papi's vivid, colorful illustrations, along with the overall book design, are strong points in an otherwise mediocre offering. The art reflects a number of influences, from traditional Afro-Brazilian folk art to post-modernists such as Jackson Pollack. The results are fresh and interesting. The crafts have potential, though some are too complex for young children. The text has numerous problems, including wooden characters and stilted, unrealistic dialogue. Nana in particular sounds like a combination of a tour guide and a folklore professor, and Mourrice's voice is adult in tone. However, readers will appreciate the illustrations, possibly to the extent of forgiving the poorly written text.
Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Siena College Library, Loudonville, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Books for Kids on African American Quilts
Click on the links under the images.
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-4 - An exciting story about a girl and her father who escape slavery with help from the coded symbols on a quilt. Shortly after Hannah's sister is sold to another plantation, Mama dies, but not before teaching Hannah how to sew, whispering, "…this quilt will show you everything you need to know to run to freedom." Their journey leads them along the Underground Railroad, from their Georgia plantation to a hiding place beneath a church, through pirate tunnels, and eventually to the home of a Quaker family. Finally, they cross Lake Erie into Canada, and the narrative ends on a hopeful note as Hannah makes a new quilt with an empty square for her sister, praying that someday they'll be together again, and free. The first-person narrative flows smoothly and lends immediacy to the dramatic events. The vivid oil paintings are skillfully done, with the characters' expressive faces reflecting their fear and courage, and angular lines echoing the quilt squares. An afterword gives some historical background. Overall, this works well as a story and also as a lesson in African-American history. - Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Dramatic oil paintings and compelling verse-like prose combine to portray the harsh yet hopeful experience of travel along the Underground Railroad. Hopkinson and Ransome revisit the theme of their first collaboration, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. This time readers journey the precarious trail to freedom with a young runaway as she escapes to Canada via clandestine routes and dangerous nighttime treks. The intense opening spread features three panels showing her nameless family running for their lives by the light of the full moon, some shoeless or with only rags on their feet. (Subsequent pages show snarling dogs and overseers in hot pursuit.) The story comes to a formidable climax when they're almost discovered hiding in the back of a wagon. Hopkinson names each segment of the journey ("Running," "Waiting," "Hiding") and her narrative conveys the emotional and physical hardships of the trip ("Fear is so real, it lies here beside me"). The author connects the metaphorical protective quilt of night with folkloric elements (legend has it that quilts with blue center squares indicated safe houses on the Underground Railroad). Ransome fills in the characterizations with portraits that convey a strong familial connection and the kindness of the conductors along the way. This suspenseful story successfully introduces and sheds light on a pivotal chapter in America's history for youngest readers. Ages 5-10.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER, grandmother and granddaughter, aunt and niece, friend and friend. For a hundred years, generations of women from Gee’s Bend have quilted together, sharing stories, trading recipes, singing hymns—all the while stitchin’ and pullin’ thread through cloth. Every day Baby Girl listens, watches, and waits, until she’s called to sit at the quilting frame. Piece by piece, she puzzles her quilt together—telling not just her story, but the story of her family, the story of Gee’s Bend, and the story of her ancestors’ struggle for freedom.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-- Clara, a young slave, works as a seamstress and dreams of freedom. Overhearing drovers talk of escaping North enables her to make a patchwork map of the area. When she escapes, she leaves the quilt behind to guide others. Based on a true event, this is a well-written picture book. Ransome's oil paintings, however, are perhaps too smooth and rich for the story they tell. The world depicted is too bright, open, and clean. For example, in the first scene Clara has been put to work in the cotton fields. Supposedly too frail to last long at such work, she is pictured as a slim, serious, yet sturdy girl. The bright yellow sky and the charming smile of the boy with her belie the realities of the back-breaking work. In another scene, young Jack, who has been brought back the day before from running away, looks solemn, but not distressed, and is wearing what appears to be a freshly ironed white shirt. Again, the image distances viewers from the realities of the situation. Clara's escape to Canada, too, is marvelously easy, although she does say, "But not all are as lucky as we were, and most never can come." It is not easy to present the horrors of slavery to young children; thus, even though Ransome's illustrations, and to some extent the text, err on the side of caution, this is an inspiring story worth inclusion in most collections. --Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Amazon.com Review
In Cassie's Word Quilt, a young African American girl takes early readers on a remarkable tour of her 1930s-era Harlem home, school, and neighborhood. The tour serves as a vocabulary jaunt, as well. Dozens of objects are clearly labeled; the youngest viewers of this big lap book can point to familiar images as older readers read the captions: "doll," "quilt," "father," "subway," "jump rope." Ringgold's vibrant art captures the excitement of urban life in an era gone by. Gorgeous spreads feature a richly textured quilt motif, with illustrations picking up on the patterns in the squares of fabric bordering the pages. Seldom have we seen a word identification book as artful as Cassie's Word Quilt. Ringgold's other titles include Caldecott Honor Book Tar Beach (on which Cassie's Word Quilt is based), and companion volumes Counting to Tar Beach and Cassie's Colorful Day. (Baby to Preschool) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Product Description
A small African-American girl is overjoyed with the new patchwork quilt her parents have made. As she sleeps, it comes alive, turning into a fantastical dreamscape she must enter in order to find her beloved stuffed dog. An ALA Notable Children's Book. Full color.
Product Description
Martha Ann is twelve years old when Papa finally saves enough money to purchase her freedom from slavery. In 1830, the family leaves east Tennessee to begin a new life in Liberia. On market days, Martha Ann watches the British navy patrolling the Liberian coast to stop slave catchers from kidnapping her family and friends and forcing them back into slavery. Martha Ann decides to thank Queen Victoria in person for sending the navy. But first, she must determine how to make the 3,500-mile voyage to England, find a suitable gift for the Queen, and withstand the ridicule of family and friends who learn of her impossible dream. Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria is the true story of Martha Ann Ricks, an ex-slave who spent fifty years saving spare coins to fulfill her dream of meeting the Queen of England.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 3-5. A Show Way is a quilt with secret meanings, and the image works as both history and haunting metaphor in this exquisite picture book. Based on Woodson's own history, the unforgettable story tells of African American women across generations, from slavery and the civil rights movement to the present. The cut-out jacket design is impressive, as is Talbott's mixed-media artwork inside, which extends Woodson's clear poetic narrative with beautiful collages that make use of big triangles, squares, and curves to emphasize portraits and landscapes and show connections and courage. The first double-page spread is of anguished separation when Soonie's great-grandmother is sold "without her ma or pa." Growing up on a plantation in South Carolina, Soonie learns from Big Mama about children "growing up and getting themselves free," and also how to sew quilts with signs that show the way to freedom. Time passes: Soonie's granddaughter, Georgiana, has twin girls who march for freedom in the 1960s. The final glorious spread shows Georgiana's granddaughter, Jacqueline Woodson, laughing at home with her own beloved daughter, Toshi Georgiana, whose picture is embedded in a quilt, connecting her with those who came before. A must for the classroom, this story will move many readers to explore their own family roots; link it to the Booklist interview with Woodson [BKL F 1 05], in which she talks about what she owes to those who came before her. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Awareness Publishing
Small Publishing company with good books for children on African crafts.Their mission:
About us
Awareness Publishing was established in 2001 to focus on publishing educational books for school children. Our focus is on subjects and life skills that are essential for African children, but which are not being produced by any of the international book publishers due to lack of interest, and which are therefore not available for the African market.
Our philosophy is that children need to read books willingly, without having to be persuaded to do so. We believe that books need to be made in such a way that that children will not be able to resist the temptation of picking them up and reading them. We are also convinced that it is more cost-effective and economic to produce long lasting, durable books (that can be read by many readers in succession), than to economize and produce less attractive books that do not last. Accordingly, all our books are made in hard cover, in full colour, and with a Tough-Cover® long lasting library binding.
Hands On Crafts For Kids Crafts Around the World
Product Description
Crafts Around the world is fun crafting activities for kids 7 to 12 as seen on the public television series Hands On crafts for Kids. Travel around the world as we learn about different countries and cultures through their crafting traditions. Hands on Crafts Around the world includes 68 projects in four color with supply lists, step by step instructions, and full size patterns.
Traditional Native American Arts and Activities
Product Description
Did you ever wonder what life might be like in a Native American village? What would you eat, and how would you pass the long winter nights? In this book, you can find out by cooking and eating traditional Catawba roasted corn, making your own Lakota beaded wristband, or creating a decorative Zuni water jar. At the same time, you’ll be exploring indigenous cultures from the Inuit of the Arctic to the Tohono O’odam of the Sonoran Desert. You’ll be amazed and delighted by the wealth of fascinating facts and exciting things to do and make in Traditional Native American Arts and Activities. Jam-packed with fun and easy-to-follow projects, recipes, and games, this captivating book explores what makes the heritage of Native Americans so unique and wonderful. Where else can you learn how to sew a Tlingit button blanket, stir up a yummy Yupik wild raspberry dessert, or make a coaster using a traditional Seminole patchwork design? Encounter the stories and customs of the early North Americans, and of their descendants today, and have a great time doing it!
The Inca: Activities and Crafts from a Mysterious Land
Product Description
Discover the ancient Inca culture with these fun games and activities!
Make an Inca tunic. Prepare a quinoa snack. Create a royal headdress. You’ll have a great time exploring the cultural traditions of these fascinating people as you learn to write an Inca poem, sculpt your own clay portrait in the shape of an Inca jug, and test your bluffing skills as you play Perudo.
This book is filled with activities and projects that will show you how the ancient Inca people lived and played, as well as how they managed to create an empire that extended nearly 3,000 miles! You’ll learn about the bravery of Inca warriors as you construct a war shield. You’ll discover how the Inca created beautiful music with panpipes and dance bells–and you’ll make them yourself! You’ll get to prepare a tasty Inca dish called Andean stew. Plus, you’ll find lots of amazing Inca facts on topics ranging from history and religion to language, metalworking, and art. So get ready for lots of fun as you discover the ancient secrets of The Inca.
Kids Around the World Create!: The Best Crafts and Activities from Many Lands
From Library Journal
Grade 3-6-A book that encourages interest in and respect for cultures and crafts from around the world. Braman begins with craft recipes, shopping tips, and helpful hints, followed by an instructional section that is organized by the crafts' functions-from celebratory to utilitarian. Some projects are for decorating; others are for parties and good luck, record keeping or holding things. Ancient and modern crafts are included. The directions and black-and-white drawings and photographs are clear and easy to follow. With care, children can achieve results that resemble the photos with the exception of the Amish quilt and the Zulu woven basket. While Amish women appear in a photograph sewing a quilt, instructions only provide for making a single quilt square and ask children to paste instead of sew. In the case of the basket, the picture clearly shows a girl wrapping raffia around a coil of reed to make a basket, while the instructions utilize a small, ill-shaped yogurt cup as a loom. A "Culture Link" appended to each activity includes a photo and brief description of a similar craft from another culture. While these links are informative, they may prove to be confusing or disappointing as they do not include instructions. Nevertheless, many cultures, including Inuit, Caribbean, Chinese, Egyptian, Ghanaian, Greek, Guatemalan, Japanese, Incan, Sudanese, and Tibetan, are represented in this welcome addition.
Marcia W. Posner, Holocaust Memorial and Educational Center of Nassau County, Glen Cove, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
Travel the Globe with These Fun and Easy Projects!
There's nothing like the thrill of finding out about faraway places. Now you can meet the people and share the customs of different countries by creating some of the things that keep their cultures alive.
You'll make a bookmark with a Guatemalan design using a cardboard loom, or an Egyptian bead necklace using dough or store-bought clay. Learn how prehistoric people told stories by making your own version of a cave painting, or make a good-luck charm in the form of a Tibetan goodwill message flag. Kids Around the World Create! is full of fun crafts and activities that will teach you about the customs of cultures around the world.
Every country has something special to offer, and all the activities in this book help you enjoy and explore this diversity. All the crafts are easy to do and the supplies are made up of simple household materials. Have fun as you journey to distant and exciting lands!
The Kids' Multicultural Art Book: Art & Craft Experiences from Around the World
Product Description
An exciting hands-on feast of multicultural art and craft experiences. With this book, children learn by doing--reaching across continents with paper, paste, and paints, while developing basic sensibilities about the wondrous cultures of others. Over 400 outstanding how-to illustrations.
Global Art: Activities, Projects, and Inventions from Around the World
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-Arranged in chapters by continent, these crafts will be useful for geography and cultural reports. The authors use a system of symbols to denote which continent is associated with the activity, the level of difficulty, the basic art technique involved, and how easy or difficult the required materials are to procure. Black-and-white line drawings illustrate the process and/or the finished product for each project. Most of the activities are interesting and directly linked to the cultures they represent. Others, like several for Antarctica, seem more contrived. Building a structure of icing and sugar cubes is sure to be a hit with children, but how illustrative is it of the Antarctic environment? Necessarily, not all countries and cultures are included but many are represented by more than one project. While children can use this book, the descriptions (e.g., "Young children create a miniature woodland scene..."), the pervasive use of symbols or icons, and the terse but accurate directions indicate that this book was designed for adults.
Torrie Hodgson, Burlington Public Library, WA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Around the World Art & Activities: Visiting the 7 Continents Through Craft Fun
Product Description
This book is suitable for ages 4 to 8 years. Grab your homemade cereal-box suitcase, and plant a stamp on your newly made passport, for we're about to leave on a whirlwind tour of the seven continents. And what fun it is sure to be. Kids will be kids - rejoicing in their newfound friendship and familiarity with peoples around the world, delighted by both the similarities and differences in their cultures and customs. Make a Masai necklace, craft a Greek vase, create your own Guatemalan-styled 'worry' doll, and break some Maori bread from New Zealand! Broaden kids' view of their world and see the sights. Make you own standing Eiffel Tower, construct a salt-box windmill from Holland, build a wonderful Egyptian pyramid, and craft a clever London-styled 'Big Ben' clock.Make the Nile overflow, construct an erupting volcano, grow a pineapple plant, and create an Australian koala bear and a tissue-paper penguin (that really stands up!) from Antarctica. Explore the seven continents of the world and their distinctive lands, waterways, animals, plants, and natural treasures on a getting-to-know-you tour - with kids in the cockpit. Whew! Who's the tour guide that can keep up with these 3 to 7 year olds? None other than award winning Williamson author Judy Press, who has an inimitable talent for keeping kids learning and laughing - and loving it.
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