Song of the Giraffe (Springboard Books)

Hoping for the respect of her tribe and inspired by a dream, Kisana braves a dangerous journey to find the fruit of the baobab tree and a long-lost spring.

Grade 3-5-- Kisana, a young African girl, feels inferior because she is smaller and lighter-skinned than anyone else in her tribe. After freeing a baby giraffe from a trap, she has a dream in which the animal helps her find the hidden spring that the drought-stricken villagers have long been seeking. The gift she finally decides upon to take to the feast as an ancestral offering is her song of the giraffe, which leads the people to the ancient hidden spring. While this is set in Africa, the childhood problems are universal as Kisana longs for acceptance and triumphs over a bully. Illustrated with posed, pointillistic black-and-white drawings, it's a short, simple coming-of-age story with a courageous heroine that conveys the importance of respect for all living things. --Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When the Bokuru tribe, their water supply exhausted, plans a feast for their ancestors in the hope of finding a spring celebrated in their oral history, Kisana (10) has a series of dreams in which a giraffe gives her clues to the spring's location. Following the giraffe's directions, she goes in search of an ancient baobob tree; along the way, she meets a Naba boy, Xu, whose voice reminds her of the giraffe's. Xu takes Kisana to his grandmother, who tells her that the tree is dead; Kisana then sings a song about the giraffe that is so sweet that the old woman presents her with the baobob's last pod--but when she returns to her village, her enemy Lavo crushes the pod. With no other gift for the ancestors, Kisana again sings the song of the giraffe, which sends the village leader into a trance that enables him to find the spring after all. Told in a simple, folkloric style, this lovely story brings tribal Africa and its plains vividly to life while incorporating a couple of contemporary concerns: with her light skin and small stature, Kisana differs from her tribe; she also, like the peaceful Naba, believes that hunters should take no more than they need. More serious than most chapter books at this level, but still lively enough to entertain. Johnson's soft, realistic b&w drawings are just reminiscent enough of African tribal art to add a pleasantly exotic flavor. (Fiction. 7-10) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.