School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5An Indian storyteller poles five children through the Everglades in his dugout, and in language as lush as the land of which he speaks, he tells them the story of the river of grass. He speaks with reverence, beginning eons ago, when there was only the sun and the sea, taking the story through the formation of land rich with lakes and rivers. His words, brimming with metaphor and simile, describe an abundant web of plant and animal life, thriving in ``a living kaleidoscope of color and beauty.'' Minor's paintings, alive with color and detail, open a panoramic door into this idyllic past. The storyteller continues, describing the various peoples who passed through or lived gracefully in this place. So, the children wonder as they look around them, what happened to all that you describe? Now his statements are stark as he describes how hunters, collectors, and finally developers pushed native species to the brink of extinction, or beyond. The listening children soberly ask for a happier tale and their guide describes a future in which they are in control. The story and the art create a mystical tale that flows from a serene start to a powerful conclusion. With the magic of Lynne Cherry's The Great Kapok Tree (Harcourt, 1990) and the strength of Chief Seattle's words in Brother Eagle, Sister Sky (Dial, 1991), this is a plea for conservation and a story eloquently told.Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Newbery Medalist George presents a haunting plea for the preservation of endangered ecosystems, a plea strengthened by Minor's majestic paintings. Poling a canoe through the Everglades, a man tells his five young passengers a story. Beginning with ``the age of the Seashells,'' the narrator shows the children how the spillover from Lake Okeechobee became ``a slow river that gleamed like quicksilver''; and how the ``saw grass clattered like a trillion swords'' when the wind blew. As he describes ``all things large and small that make the Earth beautiful,'' full-spread art depicts the river's history, while medallions top text pages with symbols of the vanishing Everglades. When the storyteller details the wanton destruction of this habitat, the dispirited children request ``a happy story.'' He then tells of how ``five children and a storyteller poled into the Everglades'' and ``eventually the children grew up and ran the Earth.'' With her narrative skill and expertise as a naturalist, George adroitly avoids didacticism. A particularly persuasive environmental work. Ages 6-9. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Beautiful paintings and formal, framed pages of text follow the development of the shallow grassy river known as the Everglades. The thoughtfully explained habitat history, from its prehistory to human spoilage, concludes with a heavy-handed lesson as a Native American tells the story to a group of children whom he urges to become rescuers of the Everglades. From HORN BOOK 1995, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
``I am going to tell you a story....It's a story about a river,'' says a storyteller to several children in a boat in this tale. This narrator describes the formation of the Everglades, the plants, animals, and people who inhabit the unique ecosystem, and its near-destruction through waste and carelessness. The listeners, a group of interracial children poling through the silver waters of the Everglades in a dugout canoe, complain, ``But this is a sad story...Please tell us a happy story.'' He revises the ending, noting that the children grow up and run the planet differently. Full-color paintings by Minor complement the story and gracefully capture the beauty and life found in a panorama of plants and animals. A final page identifies some of the species depicted. This is every bit as didactic as John Burningham's Hey! Get Off Our Train (1990), but has powerful moments, including a convincing message, poetically told. (Picture book. 5+)
Booklist Review
Gr. 2-4. Though structured as a tale told to five children whom a storyteller has poled into the Everglades, the narrative focuses on the history of that unusual ecosystem. The narrator tells how the Everglades became "a living kaleidoscope of color and beauty," filled with plants and animals, and how human involvement has changed the ecology, devastating the area. Minor's handsome full-page paintings show what those earlier times must have looked like. When the children ask about what happened to the orchids, egrets, and alligators, the storyteller suggests that they can make a happy ending to the story when they grow up. Some of the interactions between humans and nature are oversimplified, but the artwork makes a convincing plea for an observant relationship with our surroundings. (Reviewed June 1 & 15, 1995)0060212284Mary Harris Veeder
