Synopsis
The Caldecott Honor-winning author of The Village of Round and Square Houses offers an inspirational tale, featuring her own exuberant illustrations, about a brave Mayan boy who leads his village's New Year's Day parade, even though he is weak and hungry.
Reviews
Grade 1-4-A nameless Mayan boy struggles to bring honor to his family during the New Year's Eve ceremony-he must carry a drum on his back and play a bamboo flute in the long procession to the cathedral. Almost overcome with exhaustion, he feels his inner strength come alive when the widow of the master flutist replaces his flute with her husband's. Told in poetic verse, this is an authentically detailed narrative of an ethnic celebration that also shows how one brave child finds his life changed. His accomplishment earns him a generous reward from the village elders and proves that he can support his family. The soft, yet vibrant watercolors lend a personal touch to the tale. This book is typical of Grifalconi's style, yet not as charming as The Village of Round and Square Houses (Little, 1986). Lyrical text and gently colored illustrations combine to make a pleasing multicultural offering.
Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
On New Year's Day, a little Mayan boy is charged with the duties of playing the flute and carrying a drum on his back while leading the people of his village in a parade into town. It is a long journey through a hot sun, and the boy isn't sure he can make it. At length he does, inspired by the coins he will earn to buy food for his poverty-stricken family, who have only a single clay pot of corn gruel left and have been forced to eat seeds that should have been planted. The story is devoid of humor, just as the boy himself is devoid of a single distinguishing mark of personality outside of a relentless--and relentlessly earnest- -courage. Still, Grifalconi's (Kinda Blue, 1993, etc.) details of this special Mayan day are interesting, especially the careful descriptions of the myriad different ways corn is used, and children will learn something about the impoverished yet enduringly artistic Mayan culture. A conventional but informative story accompanied by dreamlike, pastel-colored illustrations. (Fiction/Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Ages 4-8. Based on Mayan New Year's traditions as celebrated today, this story tells of a young boy who is chosen to carry a heavy drum on his back while playing his bamboo flute in a procession. Proud to be serving his community and hopeful of earning pesos to buy seed corn for his family, the boy sets off willingly, slowly tires, and trudges on through exhaustion to triumph, when the widow of the old master flutist places her husband's silver flute in his hands. Joyfully he leads the parade up the steps to the cathedral, where he receives enough coins to buy both food and seed for the coming year. The impressionistic artwork serves the story well. Grifalconi varies the composition and distance of her scenes from page to page, and using color, light, and focus, she creates dramatic effects. Although "the boy," as he is called throughout the story, never becomes three-dimensional, there's enough of a story here to make this picture book work. The contemporary Mayan setting adds its own dimension for libraries seeking multicultural picture books. Carolyn Phelan
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