Elizabeti's Doll

Tanzania, Africa: Stuve-Bodeen, Stephanie. Elizabeti’s Doll. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc., 1998.

What does a little girl do without a doll? Adopt a rock, of course. Elizabeti has a new baby brother and so names a rock Eva and cares for it just as her mother cares for baby Obedi. But compared to Obedi, Eva is a perfectly behaved child: “When baby Obedi had a bath, he splashed and got Mama wet. When Eva had a bath, she behaved very nicely and only splashed a little.” Things come to a crisis when Eva is lost, then is quickly found again. Young children will love this story for its cheerful tone, its warm and supportive family, and its happy resolution. It is a delight to read aloud because it averages two lines per page of simple, cadenced language sprinkled with African names. This is one of those books in which a young child can jump into another child’s skin for a few minutes and in the process learn what is part of the daily existence of someone on another part of the globe. In this case, a young child will see a kanga, or cloth, used to carry water and a baby. Stuve-Bodeen also describes an African child’s chores, a cooking hut, and the main course at dinner.

The mixed media scenes by Christy Hale show a soft, chubby baby brother about five months old, engaging expressions on the faces of the characters—especially the loving mother—and fabrics with vivid patterns everywhere. For its ability to create fans among all age groups through an eloquent story tenderly told with words and pictures, Elizabeti’s Doll gets an A.(Also highly recommended: Mama Elizabeti.)

Galimoto

(Books about Other Cultures)
Malawi, Africa:

Williams, Karen Lynn. Galimoto. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1990.

When Kondi told his brother Ufulu that he wanted to make a galimoto, “Ufulu laughed. ‘A boy with only seven years cannot make such a toy. You don’t have enough wire.’” Galimoto, the author says in an explanatory note after the title page, means “car” and “a type of push toy made by children. Old wires—or sticks, cornstalks, and pieces of yam—are shaped into cars, trucks, bicycles, trains, and helicopters.” Kondi contrives to get all the wire he needs for his galimoto at different places in the village, and he is so determined that he does not let misunderstandings by adults stop him. By the end of the day, he has created a neat little truck that he can show his playmates after his supper.

Catherine Stock’s water illustrations capture Kondi’s colorful village for us. We see women grinding corn, hanging up clothes, selling baskets of food, and waiting in line at the flour mill and the store. They wear clothes with bright, colorful designs. We see children pushing one another in a wheelbarrow, rolling a tire, clinging to their mothers, and trying to catch ants from a huge dirt mound. One of my favorite images is a thatch-roofed building that has “Welcome Visitors to Tiyeni Tiwonenso Restaurant” written across the upper third of the front wall. Just under the front window stands a refrigerator with a Coke logo emblazoned across the front. For engaging pictures and story that tell us so much about the lives of people on the continent of Africa, Galimoto gets an A+.

Tree of Cranes

Posted January 13, 2006
(Books about Other Cultures)
Japan: Say, Allen. Tree of Cranes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991.

I was drawn in from the first line: “When I was not yet old enough to wear long pants, Mama always worried that I might drown in a neighbor’s pond.” The narrator goes on in that quiet voice to explain how Mama got upset that he got wet and chilled on a cold December day. She sent him to bed and later came in with a tree in a blue pot, “the little pine Mama and Papa had planted when I was born, so I would live a long life like the tree.” She explains how she lived for awhile in a place called “Ca-li-for-ni-a,” and how they celebrated a special day of peace and giving and receiving presents. She ties origami cranes to the tree and decks it with candles, which the little boy begs to light. The end result is a uniquely pretty tree, and a potentially corny story gracefully achieved by Say. He combines elements of Japanese and American cultures beautifully, both by word and picture. The illustrations are perhaps even more delightful than the story. In them, we see a traditional Japanese home with its delicate screens, wooden bathtub and bed on the floor. The characters are in traditional dress and we see their green tea cake and bowl of rice gruel with “a sour plum and yellow radishes.” Tree of Cranes gets an A+.