HUE BOY

Full-color illustrations and a Caribbean setting highlight the story of little Hue Boy, who is constantly teased and given advice about his height but who learns how to stand tall, in spite of his size.

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Hue Boy is the shortest child in his class. His father is away; his mother feeds him pumpkins, spinach, fruit, and nuts to no avail. His grandmother makes him new clothes, hoping he'll grow into them. He tries stretching. The wise man and the doctor say there is nothing wrong. The healer says a blessing and gives the boy herbs with which to bathe. Still, he grows not an inch. Finally, a big ship comes in with his father, and Hue Boy is so happy that he no longer feels small. Mitchell, who is from Belize, offers a readable but slight story that gives the flavor and rhythm of the language without using dialect. Binch's bright, appealing watercolors show the trees, houses, and people of the Caribbean region in a realistic manner. However, the characterizations are strictly one-dimensional, and the ending is weak and confusing. The text states that Hue Boy "didn't feel small at all, at all" when his father returned; the illustrations show him actually growing. Readers are left wondering if he really learns what it means to "stand tall," as the jacket copy promises, or if his father's return solves his problems, without any maturation on his part. Throughout the story, the child is so passive and undefined that, by the end, readers cannot tell.
Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Siena College Library, Loudonville, NY
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Small for his age, Hue Boy takes a lot of ribbing from his classmates, and he's himself more than a little concerned about his size. He does his best to speed the growing process--eating all the good food his Mama fixes him, faithfully performing a routine of stretching exercises--but nothing changes: "Hue Boy didn't grow one bit. He didn't grow at all, at all." A visit to a wise man doesn't help, and the doctor says he's perfectly healthy. Even village healer Miss Frangipani's herbal remedy is a bust. Then Hue Boy's dad arrives home on shore leave, and Hue Boy is so happy to see him he walks "tall, with his head held high" and no longer feels small. Mitchell's sympathetic story and fluid, lilting prose are a fitting springboard for Binch ( Amazing Grace ), whose supremely expressive watercolors make the most of the tale's Caribbean setting. Here, she dips her brush into a palette of lush, sun-drenched colors, and under her sure hand Hue Boy emerges as a character whose spunk and perseverance will steal readers' hearts. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In her first book, a native of Belize depicts a happy, well- adjusted boy with only one problem: in his village, his small size is ``big news.'' Mama urges him to eat; Gran gives him big clothes to grow into; a neighbor suggests stretching exercises; the ``wisest man,'' the doctor, and the healer are consulted, but, still, Hue Boy doesn't grow ``at all, at all.'' But when tall papa, who's been away on the ship where he works, finally comes home, he doesn't even mention Hue Boy's size--and then Hue Boy ``walked tall, with his head held high...And he didn't feel small at all, at all.'' The simple, engaging story conveys its message quietly, but effectively. Binch's glowing watercolors touch on details of life in a coastal Caribbean village while focusing on vibrant characterizations of its inhabitants. Like Hoffman's Amazing Grace (also illustrated by Binch, 1991), an extraordinarily warm portrait of a black child with a strongly positive self-image. (Picture book. 4-9) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.