Home: A Collaboration of Thirty Distinguished Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books to Aid the Homeless

Celebrates the things that make up the home, in support of Share Our Strength's fight against homelessness

Kindergarten-Grade 4-- In both a literary and artistic sense, this collection is stronger than many books created to benefit a cause. The theme is broadly interpreted. Franz Brandenberg writes of a young child playing in bed--``I am the king in my castle./I am a mole in a hole.''--while Arthur Yorinks gives a jazzy, prose poem about the refrigerator: ``What a place to live the refrigerator is, that is, if you're a cucumber.'' From Lucille Clifton there is a simple, yet poignant piece about being at home in an elevator stuck between floors: `` . . . home/ is a corner/ where i crouch/ safe/ reading/ waiting . . . .'' Generally the work of authors and illustrators is complementary, making the variety of visual styles and typefaces interesting rather than jarring. Some selections are somewhat above the intended age range for this brief, lavishly illustrated format: Lawrence Yep and Cynthia Rylant's vignettes about their grandparents, although simply and vividly told, are more adult reminiscences, better suited to older readers; Jamake Highwater's poem is quite sophisticated. The subject is of interest to all ages, and while children will not clamor for this book, adults will be able to use it effectively with them. --Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The sentiment "Home is where the heart is" has spawned here a labor of love. Thirty noted authors and illustrators offer interpretations of home in a collaboration whose proceeds will go to Share Our Strength, an organization that provides food and shelter to the needy. The eclectic mix of poetry, prose and pictures spans a range of distinct styles and emotions. Arthur Yorinks serves up a raucous refrigerator rap about his favorite household appliance, accompanied by Richard Egielski's renditions of dancing food; a tender watercolor portrait by Jerry Pinkney amplifies Lucille Clifton's poignant poem about the solace a child finds in a housing project elevator; and in a moving essay Laurence Yep remembers his grandmother's cramped Chinatown apartment. Many of these author/illustrator duos have worked together before, resulting in particularly solid and polished combinations. Illustration highlights include James Marshall's zippy painting of a swashbuckling girl and her pirate cat and Vladimir Radunsky's stark, stirring scene of a family gathered around Grandmama's kitchen table. Young readers will delight in the variety and may be prompted to ask about the larger social issues that inspired this project. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This latest title in support of a worthy cause is subtitled ``A Collaboration of Thirty Distinguished Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books to Aid the Homeless.'' In this context, the theme seems bittersweet--yet celebrating the joys of one's own special place does effectively dramatize the deprivation of being homeless. In a brief, lyrical introduction, Rosen sets the tone: ``Home is all the words that call you in for dinner, over to help, into a hug, out of a dream.'' The 13 pieces sample a crowded city stoop, an elevator, a tiny tenement apartment; an attic, a closet, a kitchen table; such cozy refuges as a chair or a bed; back porch and country garden. Imaginative play, a family enjoying conversation, the pleasures of solitude- -each appears in a setting that explores the concept of home. The lineup here is multiethnic and star-studded (Hamilton, Kuskin, Rylant, Yep, Yolen, Egielski, Marshall, Simont, et al.); the poems and poetic reminiscences are just fine, while the art is even more outstanding. Not, perhaps, a first choice to give the homeless themselves, but one to engender thoughtful discussion among luckier children. (Picture book. 4-9) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.