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Cool Aliby Nancy Poydar Ages 4-8 |
It's hot, hot, hot, but Ali manages to keep things cool in her neighborhood by using her artistic talents and her colored chalk. She draws a blue lake around the feet of Mrs. Fry and a big green umbrella over Ira's head. The neighbors are so enthralled as Ali draws cold north winds, snowflakes, and polar bear paw prints that they don't notice the sky turning darker and darker. The rain washes away all of Ali's visual air-conditioning, to her momentary despair, but the neighbors don't forget how cool her artwork was. The story is original, capturing both the doldrums of summer and the fun of imagination. The watercolor artwork, sunny bright in the beginning and soft and misty by the rainy ending, sparkles throughout. A good choice for story hours. — Booklist (Ilene Cooper)
Each of these picture books tells of a child who gives gifts of storytelling through art. Poydar's Ali "loved to draw," and Hest and Samton's Jamaica Louise says, "Everything I see is something I want to draw." Both girls live in urban environments that are improved by the girls' artistic talents. One hot summer day, Ali takes her sidewalk chalk and draws the things that everyone needs - a little lake for Mrs. Frye to dip her toes into, a beach umbrella, the North Wind. When a summer storm comes and washes away the drawings but cools everyone off, the neighbors celebrate Ali's gifts to them, chanting her name and clapping. Poydar's illustrations express wilted heat of the summer day and the progressively cheerful crowd as they enjoy Ali's artwork. Ali's drawings are appropriately childlike; they are done with pastel to look like chalk, but the rest of the scene is created with watercolor and pencil. With direct address, Jamaica Louise James pulls the audience right into the story. After asking the reader, "Want to hear my big idea?" Jamaica explains why her name is on a plaque in a New York City subway station. Jamaica's tale is irresistible. She worries about her grandmother selling tokens all day in a gloomy station, so for Grammy's birthday she surprises her by hanging her paintings all over the walls of the station. Grammy and the passengers love it, and commuters pause for a minute to talk to each other and smile. Jamaica uses her gifts as an artist to cheer up her grandmother and as a bonus gives a gift to the community. Hest's characters are each distinct, engaging individuals, and Jamaica's family of women - daughter, mother, and grandmother - is portrayed as strong and caring. Beginning with the glowing blue-and-gold endpapers of the New York City skyline, the artwork is as exuberant and powerful as the story. Paintings fill the pages and run off the edges . Samton uses a rich, vibrant palette in which purples and blues brighten up the grays of the city. These two picture books agree that children can give important gifts to the people they care about. — Horn Book
On a hot summer day in the city, Ali decides to draw refreshing scenes on her sidewalk that amazingly come to life, as a lake becomes real, an umbrella provides shade, and a blizzard cools off the whole block, making Ali a real hero to all her neighbors. — Ingram