Crosby

Kindergarten-Grade 3?Crosby, a young African American boy, discovers an old kite, fixes it, flies it, and unexpectedly finds a friend in the process. Around this simple plot, the brief text sketches a moving portrait of a lonely fatherless boy, cared for with love by his working mother, but uncertain and awkward in school, and full of questions never asked. "What he keeps, mostly, is to himself." When he makes friends with another boy, Crosby takes his first tentative steps toward being an active participant instead of an observer of life. Strong, vibrant pictures bombard readers with color. The bright blue sky spills over onto each page opposite the illustrations, serving as background for the text, framed by torn white canvas at the top and bottom that suggests clouds. The illustrations emphasize Crosby's yearning for freedom and the exhilaration he feels flying the kite. Bold patterns, images, and color are everywhere?Crosby's teacher has wings; the trees in the park sport polka dots and stripes; the sunset "spreads like a smile behind the houses"; children play in the park and sit in the classroom; Crosby has polka-dot jeans and a striped shirt. This book is a feast for both the eye and the ear.?Judith Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Withdrawn, fatherless and adrift, Crosby seems past caring about the world around him?until his chance discovery of a broken kite. As he repairs the kite, learns how to fly it and even brings himself to share it with another lonely boy, Crosby opens up and starts to soar as well. Fraught with emotion, Haseley's (Kite Flier) tale is particularly noteworthy for the poetic quality of the text ("All that afternoon, in all that blue, the red kite hangs like the sky's necktie"). Green's (Father and Son) densely saturated oil paintings make equally intriguing use of metaphor. One memorable scene shows the dreadlocked Crosby at the very back of a crowded math class which is taught by a winged angel dressed all in white; the students' backs are to the reader, but it's clear that the others turn toward the smiling teacher while Crosby looks straight ahead. The incongruity of the image instantly pinpoints Crosby's sense of isolation and his feeling of being completely out of place. It's a thoughtful, unusual picture book, more complex than most, and deserving of a close look. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.