A Caribbean Dozen - Hardcover

Grade 1-6-"Remember when/the world was tall/and you were small/and legs were all/you saw?" This verse from Pamela Mordecai's "Remember" is representative of the innocence captured in this rich collection of poems by 13 Caribbean authors. The 54 eloquently written selections share each poet's appreciation of nature and reverence for life expressed through celebrations of the brilliance of sunshine, the power of hurricanes, the majesty of the sea, and the importance of small creatures such as the "wiggle worm." The spiritual depth of the Caribbean people is affirmed through their acknowledgement of the life found within common fruits, the imagination that weaves folkloric prose of intricate magnitude, and the strength found in the hands of a steel drummer. This anthology is unique in its ability to present natural topography, life style, and other splendors of Caribbean cultural heritage. Attractive folk-style collage, watercolor, pastel, gouache, oil, and ink illustrations complement the verses. An excellent venue for multicultural appreciation that reinforces the shared realities of the human experience.
Barbara Osborne Williams, Queens Borough Public Library, Jamaica, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Blue as an island sea or green as a spotted snake, the vibrant images in this collection celebrate the work of 13 Caribbean poets. Stark watercolors with thick black outlines are interspersed with gentle portraits and with exuberant collages-whether Felstead is depicting "Count Laughula" (Agard) or a "boat made from/ half a dry coconut/ skin" (Marc Matthews), she lends to them the tropical colors of tamarind, custard apples and the poinciana. Some poems, particularly those in dialect-"Who dat girl, her eye dem bright/ Like nighttime peeny-wallie?" (Valerie Bloom)-are so specific to Caribbean culture that American audiences may have difficulty discerning the meaning, while a few seem little more than lists of exotic plants and fruit. Fortunately, most entries address the universal concerns of children in language saturated with the sounds and colors of the region. The poets' short personal essays preceding their verse warmly amplify what Agar and Nichols call "their formative meeting with the magic of the word." Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.