Overview
Every day I tell Mama,
I want to go home.
Every day she tells me,
We are home, Angelina.
New York is home now.
Angelina's heart aches for Jamaica, and no matter how much Mama talks of having a better life in New York, Angelina still dreams about mangos, johnnycake, rainbow-colored birds, and the warmth of the sand under her feet. Then one day Mama sees something in the paper about Carnival in Brooklyn, New York, and she thinks she may have found a way to soothe Angelina's homesickness.
With vibrant colors that seem to dance right off the page, Jeanette Winter pays homage to Jamaica and the traditions of the West Indian people.
Synopsis
Every day I tell Mama,
I want to go home.
Every day she tells me,
We are home, Angelina.
New York is home now.
Angelina's heart aches for Jamaica, and no matter how much Mama talks of having a better life in New York, Angelina still dreams about mangos, johnnycake, rainbow-colored birds, and the warmth of the sand under her feet. Then one day Mama sees something in the paper about Carnival in Brooklyn, New York, and she thinks she may have found a way to soothe Angelina's homesickness.
With vibrant colors that seem to dance right off the page, Jeanette Winter pays homage to Jamaica and the traditions of the West Indian people.
Publishers Weekly
In Winter's (September Roses) warm story, a Jamaican girl now living in New York City nightly dreams "of my island in the sun." Each morning, when she tells her mother that she wants to go home, Mama responds, "We are home, Angelina." The art's somber palette brightens dramatically as the youngster flashes back to images of her native land. Many spreads juxtapose city images with memories of Jamaica, such as a gray stretch of skyscrapers opposite the heroine's recollection of the beach (e.g., "The tall buildings hide the sun and the sky./ In my dreams the sun warms my head, and the sand warms my feet, and the sky is always blue"). The girl also remembers dancing at Carnival with her friends, their costumes "glowing like fire." When Mama reads about the upcoming Carnival parade in Brooklyn, she takes Angelina to be fitted for a sparkly costume, and the child practices a dance for the festivities. On Carnival day, the music and parade transport Angelina to a place that looks and feels familiar. "I'm home, Mama," she says. "This is my island in the sun," as Winter depicts a Manhattan festooned with green leaves and festive flowers. Youngsters will easily sense—and share—the girl's gradually lightening spirits and final exuberance. Ages 4-8. (May)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationEditorials
Publishers Weekly
In Winter's (September Roses) warm story, a Jamaican girl now living in New York City nightly dreams "of my island in the sun." Each morning, when she tells her mother that she wants to go home, Mama responds, "We are home, Angelina." The art's somber palette brightens dramatically as the youngster flashes back to images of her native land. Many spreads juxtapose city images with memories of Jamaica, such as a gray stretch of skyscrapers opposite the heroine's recollection of the beach (e.g., "The tall buildings hide the sun and the sky./ In my dreams the sun warms my head, and the sand warms my feet, and the sky is always blue"). The girl also remembers dancing at Carnival with her friends, their costumes "glowing like fire." When Mama reads about the upcoming Carnival parade in Brooklyn, she takes Angelina to be fitted for a sparkly costume, and the child practices a dance for the festivities. On Carnival day, the music and parade transport Angelina to a place that looks and feels familiar. "I'm home, Mama," she says. "This is my island in the sun," as Winter depicts a Manhattan festooned with green leaves and festive flowers. Youngsters will easily sense—and share—the girl's gradually lightening spirits and final exuberance. Ages 4-8. (May)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationChildren's Literature -
Although her mother tries to persuade her that New York is their home now, Angelina keeps dreaming of her sunny island home of Jamaica. She dreams of the good food and wakes up hungry. She misses the warmth, the sand, the birds, her grandma. Everything in the city is different. But one day her mother sees the notice of a carnival, like the ones back in Jamaica. They get involved in all the preparations of costumes and dances. Angelina still wants to go back to Jamaica, until Carnival Day. Then suddenly New York looks like home; it feels like home. New York has finally become her island in the sun. Winter's characters are produced with flat black paint and set in various city scenes. The illustrations are framed in black then printed on assorted colored backgrounds, tints of blue, lavender, and peach. At first we see contrasts on opposing pages between the Now of the city and the Then of her Jamaican past. But as they prepare for Carnival, we see Angelina begin to smile, to get into the carnival spirit, until the last image is of her atop the city buildings in her winged costume as flowers sprout around her. A note describes the annual traditional Labor Day Carnival in Brooklyn, New York.School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2
Angelina longs for the warm sun, tropical food, and familiar life of Jamaica. Folk-style paintings contrast the black and gray mood of her new home in New York City with her vibrant memories and daydreams of her island home. After reading a newspaper article about Brooklyn's Carnival celebration, Mama arranges for her daughter to participate in the parade. Wearing a costume of bright cloth and shiny beads with glitter sparkling on her face, Angelina feels at home amid the music and dancers. Although this experience may not have the power to banish homesickness permanently, it does allow Angelina to accept New York as her "island in the sun." The point is well made that with the assistance of loving family members, immigrant children can adapt to new surroundings. All of the characters are depicted with glossy ink-colored skin and hair made from dots or squiggles in an array of bright greens, blues, and violets. Eye-opening hues-a salmon-colored airplane, the yellow of a taxi, a golden sun-blend with pastel backgrounds to make the images stand out. The Carnival tradition, and its importance to West Indian culture in the United States, is explained in an author's note.
—Julie R. RanelliCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.