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+.
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+.
posted by Angie B. | 12:46 PM
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