Chirchir Is Singing

Starred review from June 13, 2011
Cunnane returns to the Kenyan setting of her 2006 picture book, For You Are a Kenyan Child, in a you're-too-small tale given depth by lyrical prose ("High in Africa, wind like a cat paw wipes the sky clean"). Chirchir tries but fails to help her elders and is sent away time after time. "Little one, this work is not for you," says Mama after Chirchir drops the well bucket. "Go help Kogo with the fire." Not until Chirchir finds her baby brother, Kip-rop, crying untended does she discover a task she can do as well as the grownups. In an afterword, Cunnane explains that Chirchir is a member of the Kalenjin tribe; the story contains a great deal of information about Kalenjin life, language, customs, and Kenyan flora and fauna ("Warblers and cuckoos swing in the bottlebrush tree"). Daly's (Sivu's Six Wishes) softly shaded acrylics have much to teach, too. When Chirchir helps her grandmother build a fire, roosters peck on the hut's floor, but a radio sits on the table. Images of security, dependability, and plenty offer a fresh picture of African life. Ages 3â7.

July 1, 2011

Chirchir, a little girl of the Kalenjin tribe in Kenya, cheerfully sings and tries to help her busy family with chores.

Her zeal is greater than her abilities, though, as she loses her grip on the well rope, lets the fire leap up to burn the chai and causes newly dug potatoes to roll down the terraced hill. "Little one, this work is not for you," is the gently repeated admonition, as Chirchir is sent from one relative to another. Finally, spirits low, she hears a sound and runs to the brothers' sleeping hut. Baby Kip-rop is crying, and big brother Kip-koech is sleeping through it! She cradles the baby and sings soothingly. Cunnane's lilting text conveys respect for Kelenjin village life and the importance of children's contributions to agrarian work. Her thoughtful portrait of Chirchir, striving to find her familial role, resonates across cultures. South African Daly's soft acrylic pictures depict village life with a stylized, folkloric verve. Animals graze placidly as villagers work amid the sweeping backdrop of green hills and well-tended crops. At last, the family pauses. "What has made the day pass so sweetly? they wonder. / The answer comes on a breeze / that echoes through the hills and valleys / of Kenya. / Chirchir is singing."

An affecting slice of Kenyan village life presented by a skilled author and illustrator, both with African connections. (author's note, glossary) (Picture book. 3-7)

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September 1, 2011

September 1, 2011
Preschool-G Set in rural Kenya, this picture book tells a universal story of a child who tries to help but messes up until she finds a way to make a difference. The moving free verse is illustrated with Daly's bright, folk-art-style acrylic paintings, which show the rural setting, with huts, cattle, and fields, along with warm, close-up scenes indoors. Chirchir runs to help Mama get water from the well (Drop / plop / Wiggle it . . . jiggle it), but the bucket's rope slips, the water splashes, Chirchir falls, and Mama tells her, Little one, this work is not for you. Chirchir runs into more trouble as she tries to help Big Sister spread a new floor and help Baba pack potatoes for market; again she hears the refrain that this work is not for you. Then Chirchir sings to her crying baby brother, makes him laugh, and discovers how she can help. The child's view and familiar experiences offer natural ways to introduce the particulars of daily life in Kenya.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)