Ali, Child of the Desert

Jonathan London, who lives in Graton, California, prefers sandals to shoes, but he knows that nothing beats socks for dancing. When he's ready to put the extra slip in his slide, he kicks off his flip-flops and puts on some tube socks. When Jonathon isn't a sensation on the dance floor, he is a rage on the page with over forty books for children to his credit, including Froggy Gets Dressed, Hip Cat, Like Butter on Pancakes, and Puddles. He lives with his wife and two sons.

Kindergarten-Grade 3. Ali is proud to accompany his father on the yearly trek to market across the Sahara by camel, proving that he is ready to be a man. When a sudden sandstorm separates them, the boy finds shelter and solace with Abdul, an old Berber goatherd, and his grandson. That night, Abdul entertains and awes Ali with tales of his life as a young warrior. In the morning, Ali chooses to wait in the desert in the hope that his father will find him, rather than accompany the goatherd to the summer pasture. The musket shots Ali fires all day to draw attention to his position alert his father, and the two are joyously reunited and enter the market town together. The book's multiple themes of resourcefulness, bravery, and finding friendship with those different from oneself are briskly explored, and neatly and satisfyingly resolved. Lewin's detailed watercolors capture the dazzling, ever-changing colors of wide swaths of the Moroccan landscape, placing readers in each scene with startling immediacy. A visual feast.?Ellen Fader, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.