The Playgrounds of Babel

August 1, 2019

K-Gr 4-This truly unique picture book tells a version of the biblical story of the Tower of Babel as an explanation of how languages came to be. The story is cleverly framed by Lawson (Sidewalk Flowers) as a tale woven on a playground by an old woman in a kerchief. A black child translates this story to a white child, and the entire text is made up of their dialogue. The translator explains that one's belief in God or lack thereof is irrelevant when it comes to the story, as long as one has imagination. The woman's story continues to tell of two friends (a black girl and white girl) who suddenly find themselves unable to communicate. They eventually learn that they still share the language of touch, emotion, and song. Grobler's illustrations depicting the story within the story bring light and color onto the pages, while the world of the storyteller is stark, gray, and gloomy. Eventually, color comes into present day via a vivid orange sunset behind the dark city buildings. The images are highly textured and multidimensional, layering collaged buildings with drawn and painted images of different weights and levels of detail. The Babel story is depicted in a folk-art style. The dragon (not a feature of the original story) is yellow, winged, and scaly, and God appears feminine, shown beneath a blue crown and robe. VERDICT A lighthearted, child-centric framing of a biblical story told without any religious emphasis, housed in a package that is quite exquisite.-Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2019
A new take on the Babel tale featuring friendship, song, and a dragon. Two children on a playground overhear an old woman telling a story. Since one child doesn't understand her language, the other takes on the storytelling. The story differs from what the listener--and perhaps readers--is familiar with: After the people of Babel build their tower, "God sent a dragon to destroy the tower, and then God made it impossible for people to understand each other--by making new languages for everyone." The translating child continues, describing how sudden linguistic barriers did nothing to dim the friendship between two young girls of Babel. Through song, the two discovered how to communicate once more. Conveyed entirely through dialogue, back-and-forth questioning between listening child and translating child moves the action forward but also prompts musings on belief and story. "None of it is realistic. It's a story, not reality....No one's asking you to believe, just imagine." Grobler's mixed-media work illustrates the narrative layers. He sticks primarily to an inky palette for the playground action while illuminating the Babel tale with bright watercolor and colored pencil. Just as the skeptical child concedes, "That sounds realistic," the illustrator injects color into the playground. Languages are denoted by different symbol sets rather than lettering, and the cast of characters is diverse in skin color and dress, including both pairs of friends. A conversation starter. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)

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