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Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
 A POST WAR CLASSIC THAT IS FORTUNATLY STILL WITH US March 1, 2009
D. Blankenship (The Ozarks)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Little Island by Golden MacDonald and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard has been around since at least 1946; had reprints in 1974 and any number of bootlegged, illegal copies made and sold throughout the years. There is a reason for this! This book is actually good! The story, more about that later, is beautifully done and the art work is different enough; quirky enough to appeal to children, and I might add open minded adults, down through the years.
The story is rather timeless and at first glance rather simple. We have a very small island inhabited by various creatures and plants and sea critters. The little island is subject to the changes in the seasons. This little island is actually a microcosm of our planted, and even the most thick witted can spot this fact after only a few pages. Kids, unlike some adults, are quite a bit brighter than we give them credit for; more open to the use of the possible and impossible, and pick up on this fact rather quickly. The author's prose is actually comforting in its rhythm and cadence. Following is an example:
The morning was quiet
on the Island
with only the spiders sailing their webs
against a gentle wind.
Boats sailed to the little island
from far away
and herring and mackerel
leaped out of the water
all silver in the moon light.
The seaweed squeaked at low tide
and the little green pears grew on the pear tree.
A black crow flew over.
When you read these words, simple as they are, and then shut your eyes, you can actually visualize the little island just setting there, doing its thing, and doing what islands do best.
The story continues with a visit from a boat which caries with it a small cat. The cat, a curious creature, explores the island, making cat observations, as cats will. The story of the island and its inhabitants are more or less shown and told through the cats eyes. The child learns of the trees; the pear tree, fish, lobsters, insects, flowers and birds. There is an absolutely delicious picture of two Kingfishers that are an absolute delight. It does not take much of a leap to understand, or at least gather a feeling of the circle of nature in this work. When the cat leaves with the boat, the island continues to be an island and all is the same. There is an eternal flow about this work that is quite comforting.
Now very few have been able to say a critical word as to the writing ability of MacDonald. There are those that are not all that happy with the art work of Weisgard though. The reader MUST remember when these pictures were made and put them in the proper context of the times. They must also gaze at the paintings through the eyes of a child rather than that of a "sophisticated" adult art critic; no, no, no...this is a big mistake to do so! Keep in mind that this was written and illustrated for children; young children at that. It is a big mistake to judge a children's book by either it's age or worse yet, it's appeal to the logical minded adult.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
Great reading for kids February 14, 2009
Lynn A. Peters (northern NJ)
This book has been around a long time, and it's still great! I bought it for my grandsons, and I will have fun reading it to them.
"The Kitty Book" November 8, 2007
LaughingFoxSong (SoCal Beach)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My 23 month old son calls this the "The Kitty Book". He has loved this book for months. The illustrations are beautiful and the wording poetic, for the most part. The overuse of "and" is a fact in the book, I freely admit.
This book introduces a child to the seasons, to weather, to migratory movements of birds, lobsters, and seals (temporary residents to the island).
I think the most noteworthy thing this book brings to a child is the conversation between the kitten and island. On the surface it defines what an island is, saying plainly that although we can't see it, is connected to "all land". When the kitten says that he is connected to all land, but by jumping is a "fur island in the air" there are philosophical overtones, especially since the idea of faith is the next conversation that happens. I take away the idea, beautifully crafted, that everyone is connected to this world and to each other and that although we can't see it, we should have faith that it is true.
Since my young toddler identifies this book as "The Kitty Book", even though the kitten does not dominate the text, I think the message's heart is clearly seen to belong with the dialogue the kitten participates in.
I love to read this book just as much as my son loves me to read it to him.
Not just for older children January 14, 2006
Josselyn M. Borowiec (Buffalo, NY)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
My 2 1/2 year old has loved this book for the past 6 months. Don't sell your toddler's abilities to appreciate great language & cadence short.
 The weather started getting rough.... February 29, 2004
E. R. Bird (Manhattan, NY)
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
Published just after the end of World War II, "The Little Island" garnered itself a prestigious Caldecott medal for exemplary plot and illustrations in a picture book. Looking at it today, I'm a little surprised. The book does have a sweet little story. Describing the daily events that occur on a small island in the beautiful blue ocean, the story eventually focuses its attention on a black kitten that visits the island for a while. The kitten explores and speaks with the island and its fish, discovering the nature of, "how all land is one land under the sea". In the end, the kitten leaves and the island is subject to the wild storms and animals that seek its shores.I like the story of the kitten and I like the words Golden MacDonald has chosen to convey nature's mysteries. "The cat's eyes were shining with the secret of it. And because he loved secrets he believed. And he let the fish go". So no quarrel here with the text. Top notch. Two thumbs up. It's the illustrations I have a bone to pick with. When you think of the fine illustrators of the past, geniuses like Robert McCloskey or James Thurber come to mind. Less likely to appear in one's brain is a Mr. Leonard Weisgard. In creating this book, Weisgard begins strongly. The opening pages reveal a black and white kingfisher smiling benignly at the viewer. The little island, obviously somewhat close to North American shores due to its pine trees and native plants, is rendered lovingly in the first few spreads. But then the descriptions increase and the pictures do not compliment the words. We are told that, "Small flowers, white and blue and violets with golden eyes and little waxy white-pink chuckleberry blossoms and one tickly smelling pear tree bloomed on the Island". Great. Now where are they? Because in the picture facing these descriptions we see one tree with white yellow blossoms (not white-pink), some small flowers that are white, blue, red, and violet (but NOT violet with golden eyes), and not a pear tree anywhere in sight. Hm. Eventually we come to a picture of two kingfishers preparing, supposedly, to build nests. This may have been the illustrator's intent, and perhaps I have a dirty mind, but I have never seen a clearer picture of a male kingfisher mounting a female kingfisher atop a dead tree. So there's bird sex to contend with as well. Not the illlustrator's purpose, but an undeniable image. oog. Finally, we get to the little kitten and all attempts at composition and proportion go flying out the window, never to return. The kitten is, from the first shot, about half the size of its humans. Then it leaps into the air and appears to be flying over the island. Next, it catches a fish, its legs having shrunk into its body so that it now looks to be one of those cats bred to have purposefully short legs. In the end, the cat leaves (thank goodness) and we return to some interesting illustrations that bear little or no resemblance to the text that author Golden MacDonald took such pains to write. There's great danger in critiquing books of a certain age. People who grew up loving "The Little Island" will not want this book to be so poorly reviewed. But if you pull away the sentiment and look at this story with cool clear eyes you will see that it is the unfortunate pairing of an excellent author with an inferior illustrator. It is an interesting book, there is no question. But today it cannot be considered anything but a sub-par Caldecott finalist.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 11
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