KALI'S SONG by Jeanette Winter

Winter, Jeanette. Kali's Song. New York: Schwartz & Wade, 2012.ISBN: 978-0-375-87022-4. $16.99. Ages 4-8

Whenever I finish a Jeanette Winter book, I find that I have just a bit more faith in the human being and society, so I was very excited to see Kali's Song. I am glad to say that I was not disappointed. In fact, I found myself smiling when I finished Kali's Song because of the warmth expressed in the central characters' relationships with each other and the community's respect for the importance of art and the artist. This book is a reminder of the power of art, in this case music, and how it can change people's actions and possibly even history.

Set thousands and thousands and thousands of years ago, this is a story about a little boy, Kali, who finds that he has a very special gift and doesn't have to be like everyone else. Like all the young boys that Kali knows, he is groomed to become a great hunter. His father gives him a bow and arrows, and his mother encourages him that it won't be that much longer before he can join the men to kill the animals—if he practices every day.

Kali finds that it's not practicing to hunt that brings him joy, but it's something else entirely. It's the sounds his bow makes when he plucks the strings and puts the bow to his mouth. Kali is not the only one mesmerized by the sounds he makes. Every day, animals "listen and are still" and "birds listen and are still" and "the stars come close to listen" as Kali plays. And every day when his father asks, Kali says that his practice went well.

The day of the big hunt arrives and Kali takes his bow and arrows and joins the other men and boys. When they reach the animals they are hunting, however, Kali sees the magnificent herd of mammoths below them and forgets all about the hunt. He is so filled by the music he hears within himself in response to their beauty that he puts down his arrows, lifts up his bow, closes his eyes, and begins to play. When he opens his eyes again, all the mammoths are surrounding him. The other hunters are so amazed at the sight of mammoths gathering around one little boy and moved by the beauty of Kali's music that they put down their bows and arrows. They declare Kali to be a shaman, because "only a shaman can do this." From then on, Kali plays a very important role in the community and they look to him for guidance. To the very end, "every evening, even when he was a very old man, Kali went to the hills with his bow, closed his eyes, and played his bow-harp until the stars came close to listen."

Like all of Jeanette Winter's books thus far (see Biblio-Burro and Wangari's Trees of Peace), I enjoyed Kali's Song. There is not an unnecessary word on each page, and yet it is full and lyrical. Similarly, there is not an unneeded line in any picture. Winter is a consummate artist—both author and illustrator. The colors used are predominantly browns, grays, greens, blacks, and deep reds—certainly appropriate choices for a community and culture closely associated to nature. Despite the careful thought that must have gone into her illustrations, I must admit I missed her bright, embroidery-like designs that were replaced with almost all textured paper and ink.

One thing that was absent from Kali's Song was the brief background at the end of the text. Kali is certainly no actual individual; nonetheless, a few notes about the possible setting and other emerging forms of music would have been nice. That, though, is from an adult's perspective, and I don't think there's a four year-old or eight year-old out there who is going to throw a temper-tantrum at the lack of a lecture on pre-historic, ancient human history! This book is definitely staying in my library and I can't wait to continue adding to my Jeanette Winter collection.

Stephanie Ashley

THE WOMAN WHO OUTSHONE THE SUN by Rosalma Zubizarreta

Zubizarreta, Rosalma. The Woman Who Outshone The Sun. Illustrated by Fernando Oliveria. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press, 1991. ISBN# 0-89239-101-4. $13.95.

See another review of The Woman Who Outshone the Sun on this site here.


Summary:
This book is about a beautiful young woman named Lucia Zenteno who appears at a village and the villagers are amazed at her. Her long hair outshines the sun, and she is mysterious to the villagers. Every time Lucia goes to the river to bathe, the water and the fishes in it begin to flow through her hair. When she finishes bathing, she combs her hair and the water and the fishes in it return to the river.

Some of the villagers are afraid of Lucia's powers, and they begin to mistreat her, ultimately driving her from the village. Lucia goes to say goodbye to the river before leaving. The water and the fishes flow into her hair again, but this time they won’t return to the river. When Lucia leaves the village, a dry riverbed is left behind. The villagers no longer receive the beauty of nature and they experience a drought. They realize that the river had loved Lucia and the only way to get it back is to search for Lucia and ask for her forgiveness. The villagers find Lucia and seek her mercy. She tells the villagers that just like the river gives water to everyone, they must learn to treat everyone with kindness, even those who are different. Lucia returns to the village, the water and animals return to the river, and the villagers are happy again. Lucia disappears but is not gone; the elders explain that although Lucia can’t be seen, she guides and protects them. She helps them to live with love and understanding in their hearts.

Other information:
This book is a fiction children’s picture book, retold from a Mexican folktale. This book would be ideal for students learning about folktales from other cultures. The book is also written in both Spanish and English, perfect to use in bilingual classrooms and even in bilingual instruction.

For language learners, this book could be used to introduce vocabulary. The translation is accurate; both languages portray the same tone and story. The colorful illustrations go along very well with the story. The font size and format is clear. One of the morals children can take from this tale is to treat everyone, even those who are different from themselves, with kindness. A second moral is that people should live with love and understanding in their hearts. A third moral is that one shouldn’t take for granted the nature that surrounds them. I highly recommend this book; it is enjoyable to read and the morals that it portrays are valuable.

Reviewed by Diana Derner


This review is part of the Special Section: Books in Spanish, featuring a collaboration with Policy and Language Studies students at San Diego State University. Read more about it here.

THE WOMAN WHO OUTSHONE THE SUN by Alejandro Cruz Martinez

Martinez, Alejandro Cruz. The Woman Who Outshone the Sun/ La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol. Hong Kong: Children's Book Press, 1991. ISBN 0-89239-126-x. $7.95.


Read another review of this book here.

Written as a poem, this picture book tells the legend of the Zapotecs, an indigenous group from Oaxaca, Mexico. Both English and Spanish languages are used with an appropriate translation; the text is presented in English, with Spanish below it as a separate passage. The book was written in English and the Spanish translations were added by Rosalma Zubizarreta, a well known-translator for Children's Book Press and a bilingual teacher in San Francisco.

The translation matches the original tone, story and culture of the book. I took tone into consideration when calling this book's translation "appropriate." For example in the first few sentences, Lucia is portrayed as a beautiful woman by the expression of “thousands of dancing butterflies and brightly colored flowers.” In Spanish, “miles de mariposas y una infinidad de flores” is the equivalent that carries the same meaning. Both English and Spanish have equal weight. They take up the same amount of space, size, and approximately the same number of sentences. The format is clear for both, allowing the text to be visible and legible. The book contains standard vocabulary for both languages. A glossary is not included, but there is an end note at the back of the book to clarify key vocabulary from Oaxaca.

All of the illustrations are paintings by Fernando Olivera, one of the author's good friends. Each illustration is consistent with what the passage says. It supports linguistic and skill transfer by bringing the words to life, helping the reader create an image of what Martinez talks about.

Ingrid Medrano


This review is part of the Special Section: Books in Spanish, featuring a collaboration with Policy and Language Studies students at San Diego State University. Read more about it here.

Review: SEVEN FATHERS by Ashley Ramsden

Ramsden, Ashley. Seven Fathers. Illus. by Ed Young. New York: Roaring Book Press, 2011. $16.99/$19.50 Can. ISBN: 978-1-59643-544-5.

Ashley Ramsden’s retelling of this Norwegian folktale evokes a deep response from the reader. A winter traveler, nearly at death with exhaustion, stumbles upon a house, “blazing with lights,” a beacon of hope amid the snow and cold. Each man he meets at the house sends him further in to “the father of the house,” each one older than the last, until finally he is speaking with a speck of dust, whose response, “Yes, my son,” clues the reader into the broader spiritual element of the text. In a moment of mysterious heavenly splendor, all the men of the house, now equal in age, join the traveler in a magnificent feast.

Ed Young’s combination of cut paper collage, paint splattering, and pastel create multi-dimensional illustrations that both leap off the page and draw the reader further into the folktale. The illustrations, while sometimes abstract, are evocative – one can almost feel the temperature change from the bitter cold of the Norwegian winter to the warm indoors as the traveler proceeds further into the house.

The metaphor of spiritual quest might not be understood by very young children, but the endearing warmth and comfort of the story, particularly the ending, in which the weary traveler lies down on a bed, saying a prayer of thanks that he had, “at last, found the true father of that house,” lends itself nicely as a bedtime story to be treasured and re-read.

Marisa Behan