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Summary
Summary
Bernadi loves to play football and would love to go to school too, but he and his grandfather, Babu, cannot afford to pay for schooling. Babu makes toys and Bernadi sells them at the market. Together they make enough money to get by. One night, Babu gives Bernadi a special gift - a handmade music box that plays a song Babu used to sing when he still had his voice. At the market the next Saturday, a tourist offers Bernadi so much money for the box, he cannot resist. When he returns home his difficult dilemma is resolved in a surprising turn of events. Set in Tanzania.
Author Notes
Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen has won numerous awards for her Elizabeti series (see full list to the right). A native of Wisconsin, Stuve-Bodeen was a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania. She now lives in La Center, Washington, with her husband, a park ranger, and their two children. To find out more about Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, visit her Web site: www.rockforadoll.com
Aaron Boyd made his picture book debut with Babu's Song. He has illustrated a number of works for the educational and children's magazine markets, including two books for LEE & LOW's Bebop Books imprint. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was born.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-A warm, heartrending story set in Tanzania. Bernardi loves to play soccer and to hum a song that his grandfather taught him before the man lost his voice. Babu fashions toys out of bits of tin and scraps of wood that the boy collects and then sells them at market. Together they make enough to live on but not to pay the fees required to send Bernardi to school. One evening Babu surprises his grandson with a music box he has made that plays their favorite tune. A tourist in the market is intent on buying it even though Bernardi insists that it is not for sale. Finally, the amount she offers is enough to buy a coveted soccer ball and the temptation is too great to resist. He has second thoughts, however, and tearfully hands over the money to Babu, who uses it to enroll Bernardi in school. The man has also fashioned a homemade soccer ball from string and a gunnysack and begins to work on a new music box. The tale is told with economy of language but with heaps of feeling. The characters come to life and their loving relationship and lean lifestyle are described with dignity and respect. Boyd's impressionistic watercolors capture the rich colors of the countryside and the market and effectively convey the story's emotions. Babu's Song will resonate with a wide range of readers.-Luann Toth, School Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in Tanzania, Stuve-Bodeen's (Elizabeti's Doll) predictable but touching story focuses on a boy who lives with his grandfather, a mute toymaker (Illness had taken his voice a long time ago). Bernardi sells Babu's toys at market, bringing home enough money for the two to live but not enough to pay for the two things Bernardi most wants school tuition and his own soccer ball. One evening Babu gives Bernardi a present: a handmade music box that plays a tune that Babu used to sing. When the lad brings it to market along with other toys, a tourist offers him so much money that he agrees to sell it. Resisting the temptation to buy a soccer ball with the cash, he gives it to Babu, who spends the money in a way that will please though not surprise readers. Despite the obvious set-up and occasionally strained writing (He loved soccer and his one concern was making a goal), the rapport between grandfather and grandson emerges as genuinely heartwarming. Debut artist Boyd contributes impressionistic and vivid watercolors. The perspective is sometimes muddled but the characters are full of life. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Longing to own a soccer ball, Bernardi, a boy in modern-day Tanzania, sells a keepsake music box made for him by his mute grandfather, Babu. Saddened by his poor judgment, Bernardi confesses to Babu, who forgives him and uses the money to send Bernardi to school. The story is sentimental, but both Bernardi's situation and the warm, realistic watercolors accurately depict modern rural Tanzanian life. From HORN BOOK Fall 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In this realistic tale of a young boy in Tanzania, Stuve-Bodeen, a former Peace Corps volunteer, explores the relationship between Bernardi, who wants nothing more than to attend school and get a real soccer ball, and his grandfather, a wonderfully creative toymaker who has lost the ability to speak. When Babu makes a special music box for the boy that actually plays a song he often sang when he could, Bernardi sells it with much regret to a tourist who offers him a large sum of money. The boy longs to buy the soccer ball with his profit, but feels so guilty that he gives the money to Babu. Wisely, Babu pays school tuition, buys a uniform, and makes a soccer ball out of plastic and string. Impressionistic watercolors depict the houses, marketplaces, and people of Tanzania. A tad idealistic, but warmly told. (Picture book. 6-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. Bernardi lives in a Tanzanian village with his grandfather, Babu, a mute toymaker. Bernardi loves to play soccer with the local schoolboys, but he doesn't have enough money to attend class. When Babu presents Bernardi with a music box that plays a special melody Babu once sang, the boy is joyful and cherishes his gift, until he's offered a large sum for it at a street market and sells the box. Guilt-ridden, he's unable to buy a coveted soccer ball, as he had planned. At home, he confesses to Babu, who comforts him with a handmade soccer ball and then spends the money on a wonderful surprise: a uniform and school tuition. Stuve-Bodeen skillfully avoids sprinkling too much sweetener on her nicely paced story of wish fulfillment. Children will easily recognize Bernardi's struggle between his own desires and pleasing his family, and Boyd makes a striking picture-book debut with appealing, color-saturated watercolor spreads that capture the contemporary village setting and the affection between the boy and his grandfather. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2003 Booklist