Sunshine Island, Moonshine Baby
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Cover Story
The illustration on the cover of this issue of Books for Keeps shows the arrival of King Sahure's funeral procession at the pyramid at Abusir around 2473 BC. Reconstructed from archaeological evidence, this illustration by David Salariya and Shirley Willis is taken from Ancient Egypt by Rosalie and Antony E. David, published by Kingfisher in the History as Evidence series (0 86272 091 5, £3.95). We are grateful to Kingfisher for help in using this illustration. (See Information Please, pages 20-21)
Sunshine Island, Moonshine Baby
Jennifer Northway
More than any other children's book I've read, this is the one that has set me thinking about storytelling, narrative and the ways in which we invent our pasts by the stories we tell of them. A little West Indian girl growing up in this country listens to the tales told by a group of old ladies about their childhoods in a far-off land. The joy of the book is in these tellings and in their distinctive voices. The language is warm, vivid, imaginative. The older characters are treated generously and truthfully: that's still too rare in books for this age group. Very fine pictures from an artist whose work is always worth watching. Ideal for story sessions for sevens-up-though I know that middle schoolers and younger secondaries enjoy it too.