There Is a Tribe of Kids

Starred review from February 8, 2016
Though Smith’s story is mostly built around terms for groups of animals—
“a crash of rhinos,” “an unkindness of ravens”—it stars a solitary human child,
a cross between Peter Pan and Mowgli. Dressed in leaves, he kneels among baby mountain goats (“There was a tribe of kids”) until their mother leads them out of reach. He dances with penguins until they swim away. He crawls along with a caterpillar, then hangs upside down next to it until the inevitable happens: “There was a flight of butterflies.” All of these goodbyes have a wistful sameness, so readers will rejoice when at last the child finds his own tribe of kids—a rainbow of leaf-clad children. One of the book’s delights is its shifting moods and colors, which feel like the movements of an orchestral work. The textures Smith (Return to Augie Hobble) builds up seem organically formed, as if waves and time had worn them down, yet the spreads are vivid and clean. Every living being, Smith implies, needs a place to belong, and children, especially, need other children. Ages 5–8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

Starred review from March 1, 2016
A lone child explores the natural world and its many animal tribes, collective noun by collective noun, ultimately finding a place of belonging. Against a frosty mountain backdrop, a child is hidden among a tribe of kids--goats, that is. After each departs, the youth is left alone until a colony of penguins offers sport. With them there is waddling and ample hugs. But an icy plunge leads the leaf-clad child on. Across jewel-colored waters, bright jungles, and earthy terrains, the protagonist travels, observing, imitating, and playing with the animals. But still there is a loneliness, even among the flight of butterflies--and especially when dwarfed by the moonlit ocean. After a night of dreams, the child climbs from a bed of clams onto the beach to find a trail of colorful shells leading home. Vibrant, refined illustrations propel the story forward. Each spread is gorgeously textured and colored, and everything has a crisp, defined edge. Never one to miss a comedic opportunity, Smith plays with puns in both writing and art. Beginning with the tribe of goat-kids, whom the child tries to blend with, and ending with a tribe of treehouse children whose merry play would invite any reader in, the revelatory repeat of "There is a TRIBE of KIDS" rings as a welcoming mantra of acceptance and love. Witty and humorous, never irreverent, this is a celebration of sharing and belonging, as a multiracial family hugs their adventurer on the closing page. Smith soars in this earnest, meditative work about longing, the joy of interaction, and family. Absolutely radiant. (Picture book. 3-7)

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Starred review from April 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 3-Here, Smith mines the humor and surprises found in the collective nouns assigned to groups of things and animals, juggling a host of habitats in a 24-hour time period. Arrayed in pixielike footwear and a leafy tunic, his protagonist is constantly moving-falling mid-flight from an "unkindness of ravens" or transforming into a trapezoid to mimic the "formation of rocks." The interactions are, by turn, affectionate, dramatic, and funny-developed through expert shifts in expression, gesture, and posture. Witness the water swelling and lifting the lad's clothing, revealing matching underwear as he cavorts with the "smack of jellyfish" or the stare down from the "band of gorillas" when he plays a sour note. The artist has honed his technique of manual and digital manipulation of oil paint, sprayed varnish, and colored pencils to create a visual extravaganza of dappled, textured compositions; their changing palettes create colors ranging from the dazzling whiteness behind a "colony of penguins" to the restful blues enveloping the nocturnal "bed of clams." A shift from past to present tense upon the return home, plus the second use (new meaning) of "a tribe of kids," contrasts a raucous, Pan-like forest civilization with the quiet goats that opened the story. VERDICT There is much to savor and explore in this cleverly crafted picture book, and readers will glean more with each perusal. A must-have-Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2016
Preschool-G *Starred Review* Clad in a leafy tunic and little stick horns, a boy embraces a blue mountain goat before it wanders up a nearby cliff. Left alone, he casts off his horns and wanders on until running into a penguin, who leads him to a penguin colony. This is the first of many groups that the boy joins in Smith's tribute to collective nouns. A smack of jellyfish, a parade of elephants, an unkindness of ravens, a turn of turtlesall are lushly depicted in nearly wordless spreads in which the boy frolics with his animal comrades. The Caldecott Honor Book author-illustrator (Grandpa Green, 2011) uses textured, jewel-toned illustrations that look almost batiked, and incorporates panels to capture each scene's movement as the boy tries to mimic his surroundings. It isn't only animals that appear en masse: a formation of rocks and a growth of plants are seen as well. Even Smith's more creative offeringsa sprinkle of lightning bugs and an ocean of blue, for instancework within the simple story, though some might balk at the intermingling of established terminologies and poetics. Each grouping carries only the phrase, There was a . . ., yet the book's pages cover an incredible swath of ground. The result is a kaleidoscopic look at nature, imbued with a playful love of language that young readers can't fail to embrace. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A two-time Caldecott honoree, Smith also knows how to tell a story kids will love. Don't expect this to linger on your smack of shelves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)