Island in the Sun (Picture Books) - Hardcover

Belafonte, Harry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803723873 ISBN 13: 9780803723870

Publisher: Dial, 1999

Synopsis

Taken from lyrics to a calypso song cowritten with Lord Burgess, famous entertainer Harry Belafonte tells of his childhood days growing up amidst the bright colors and sounds of Jamaica. 15,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author

Alex Ayliffe lives in England.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 4-This picture-book version of a calypso song recorded by Belafonte in the 1950s is a paean to a beautiful tropical island. Each four-line verse describes an aspect of life there and is followed by the chorus singing praises of its beauty. Some of the lines are better when sung than when read, e.g., "Never let me miss carnival,/With calypso songs/philosophical," but throughout, a wishful longing is clearly expressed. Every two-line description is accompanied by a colorful double-page collage illustration. The pictures are alive with activity directly related to and enhancing the text. The sun is so burning, the pictures so bright, and the people so busy that readers will feel the perspiration and reach for their sunglasses. With this brief combination of words and pictures, children experience life on the island where there is hard work, joyous fun, and beauty all around.
Marlene Gawron, Orange County Library, Orlando, FL
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Turning the pages of this sunny picture book, adapted from one of Belafonte's hit songs, readers can almost feel a gentle ocean breeze and hear a calypso beat. Belafonte and Burgess pay tribute to the natural beauty of Jamaica and its hardworking people, describing scenes Belafonte fondly recalls from the five years he spent as a child on that island. "This is my island in the sun/ Where my people have toiled since time begun./ Tho I may sail on many a sea,/ Her shores will always be home to me." In some of her strongest work, Ayliffe's (Something Special) bright, distinctive cut-paper collages feature lush green palm trees, radiantly blooming flowers and a gorgeous cerulean sky. Men in straw hats gather coconuts and haul them to a busy market that crackles in confetti colors. A woman labors to cut long brown stalks of sugar cane for her family and a fisherman casts his net into the frothy waves. But there is time for fun, too: farmworkers take a break for the island equivalent of backgammon; young men jam on big drums; everyone dances the night away during carnival. This vibrant outing is the armchair equivalent of a Caribbean vacation. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Belafonte and Burgess's charmer of a calypso song is set to Ayliffe's lively, tropics-shimmering, cut-paper collage. Anyone familiar with the tune (or who can read music, as the score is included at both ends of the book) will be happy to endow a reading with the beat, but the story also works very nicely on its own. It is a love song for Jamaica, to the beauties of place and culture, to those elements of the island that bring a smile to the faces of those who have visited or lived there. The book is also testament to the power of calypso, with its evocative language and phrasing that can lodge in the mind and endure: ``When morning breaks the heaven on high,/I lift my heavy load to the sky,'' and ``I hope the day will never come/That I can't wake to the sound of the drum.'' (Picture book. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This lyrical tribute to Jamaica lends itself to a picture-book interpretation. Pure pools of lush tropical colors capture the abundant scenery of the island, and urban scenes are also crowded with color as they depict markets where people choose fruit and vegetables from street vendors. Simple borders feature the flora and fauna of the island. Children who have never been to the Carribean will get a feel for the details and pace of island life from the text: "I see woman on bended knee, / Cutting cane for her family. / I see man at the water's side / Casting nets at the surging tide." Lilting and lovely, the book also features the music and lyrics, so this can be sung as well as read. Ilene Cooper

Edition details

• Publisher: Dial
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803723873
• ISBN 13: 9780803723870
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Ayliffe Alex
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32