The Genie in the Jar - Softcover

Giovanni, Nikki

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0805060766 ISBN 13: 9780805060768

Publisher: Henry Holt & Co, 1998

Synopsis

Nikki Giovanni spins her words into beautiful images of black songs and black looms, and inspires us all to trust our own hearts.

About this title

From School Library Journal

PreS Up?This profound book is as lyrical as poetry and as patterned as a lullaby, both simple and complex, concrete and elusive. In it, a black woman repeatedly admonishes her daughter, "Careful baby, don't prick your finger," but also encourages her to "take a note and spin it around," and "to take the air and weave the sky around the Black loom." Finally, the child is enfolded in her mother's arms and encircled by the women of the "Black loom" before she soars in independence. Demonstrating prototypical interdependence of words and pictures, Raschka's illustrations and Giovanni's words are inseparable in reading and understanding the whole. The artist's bold lines are few, but not a single one is wasted or out of place. The girl is so full of life that she fairly floats on backgrounds ranging from warm brown, to glowing gold, to richest black. Turning convention on its ear, the safe circle of black women is placed on a black background, while the warnings appear on white. The child is seen dancing, singing, and waving strands of sky in and out of the circle of women as her dress turns tender sky blue; she has internalized the freedom of the sky. In a ritual of sanctuary and protection, she is released, genie-like, from her mother's arms within the embracing circle of community into joyous, sunny gold possibilities. Symbolic on many levels, this poem is addressed to a black audience, but its message is undeniably universal. It is as cautionary and as reassuring as a creative life, lived with both risk and self-fulfillment.?Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

Despite Raschka's (Charlie Parker Played Bebop) compelling art-a series of sprightly yet soulful sketches that dance, skip and twirl across the pages-Giovanni's brief, abstract poem fails to take flight. Reading the text aloud helps, as the cadence of the words emerges, but younger readers especially may puzzle over the meaning: "Make the sky sing a Black song/ sing a blue song/ sing my song make the sky/ sing a Black song/ from the Black loom from the Black loom." The abrupt ending, which acts like an unresolved chord, is unsettling at best as it reprises a refrain: "Careful baby/ don't prick your finger." Played out against warm, solid backdrops, Raschka's illustrations assist in deciphering the verses. With the most fluid of lines, he reduces his compositions to an essence of motion: he envisions a circle game played by children of color, with the activity revolving around a girl (the "genie" of the title) and her mother (who becomes the "jar" when her loving arms encircle the girl). Even with Raschka's bright interpretation, it's questionable whether this well-intentioned effort will connect with its targeted audience. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0805060766
• ISBN 13: 9780805060768
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Raschka Christopher