Coconut Kind of Day: Island Poems (Picture Puffins) [Paperback]

Lynn Joseph (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1992 | Age Level: 7 and up | Series: Picture Puffins

In language that rings with Caribbean rhythm, Lynn Joseph follows a young girl in Trinidad through her day. Caribbean sights, sounds, and people come gloriously alive in this taste of Trinidad. "A colorful glimpse of a captivating world."--Kirkus Reviews. ALA Notable Children's Book in the Field of Social Studies; American Bookseller Pick of the Lists. Full-color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These 13 verses, nostalgic and sweet, portray a child's life in Trinidad, where the "pom da de de de dom pom" of the steel drums and the sight of "Mama gone to market . . . balancing her wicker basket / like the Star of Bethlehem" are everyday occurrences. The child-narrator of the poems tells of buying treats from the coconut man, of helping the fishermen "pullin' seine," of seeing the "rows of scarlet ibis / race across the sky / chasing the red ball sun / into the sea." The authentic portrayal of island routine offers young readers an intriguing look at another culture, made accessible by reference to topics of interest to children. Looking burnished, as if by the sun, Speidel's lush paintings capture the vibrancy of this exotic locale, and Joseph's rhythmic poems evoke vivid sights and sounds. Ages 6-9.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4-- Joseph's 13 brief poems recall a day in the life of a family in Trinidad. "Morning Songs" begins with a rooster singing "coc-a-toodle-too" from a galvanized gate. "Night Songs" ends the volume with a mongoose, matapel, and agouti calling out. In between, a little girl sets off for school in her blue-and-white uniform, older boys play cricket, a father buys a treat from the coconut man. Poems that describe "Pullin' Seine," (net fishing), a reggae band, and the "The Jumbi Man" add to the Caribbean flavor. Joseph frequently incorporates island speech patterns into her work. Speidel's illustrations add enormously to the book's appeal. Double-page spreads in soft, muted shades of blue, rose, gold, and green show the poems superimposed on one side. Textured paper lends interest to scenes such as a brother swimming underwater and scarlet ibis chasing the sun across the sky. A gentle, nostalgic, loving recollection about growing up in another part of the world. --Ellen D. Warwick, Robbins Library, Arlington, MA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (April 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140545271
• ISBN-13: 978-0140545272
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,981,576 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lynn Joseph was born and raised on the island of Trinidad and is the author of books for children and young adults, including The Color of My Words, A Wave in Her Pocket, The Mermaid's Twin Sister and Coconut Kind of Day, all of which take place in the Caribbean. She travels extensively and has lived in the Dominican Republic, and on the Caribbean islands of Carriacou, Anguilla, and Water Island. She is also an attorney and mother of two wonderful sons, Jared and Brandt. Her new Young Adult novel, Flowers in the Sky will be published by HarperCollins Children's Books in Winter 2013. For more information about Lynn Joseph, please see her web site at www.lynnjosephauthor.com. Or follow her on Twitter @Lynnjoseph1 or on Facebook at Lynn Joseph Books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coconut Kind of Day, December 5, 1999

By 

Caroline (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coconut Kind of Day: Island Poems (Picture Puffins) (Paperback)

In language rich with Caribbean tones and sounds, Lynn Joseph casts her fishing net and pulls a school of readers in with the tide, giving "boys and girls who aren't familiar with the Caribbean a glimpse into another child's world." A woman of the island herself, Joseph writes the poems from the perspective of a young Trinidad girl. Beginning with "Morning Songs," the poems flow naturally across the pages as a Caribbean day unfolds. Before day's end, the girl is greeted by the "ebony man selling mangoes and papaws in the street," has school escapades, and sees "Mama gone to market with the figs upon her head." The pleasures and secrets of the island are revealed throughout, as in "The Palet Man" (Caribbean ice-cream man), and "Steel Drum," which beckons readers to hear the drum's "pom da de de de dom pom." Text-enhancing, full-page illustrations, bursting with Caribbean life, leave lingering images behind. Glorious colors depict everything from the multi-hued blue water where Brother swims "till he touch high heaven on a wave," to the all too real "Jumbi Man" (Caribbean boogie-man) with his "monkey face." Joseph craftily uses metaphors to construct new images from the familiar. In "Pullin' Seine," the evening ritual of fishermen pulling nets in from the sea, Joseph skillfully places the text, creating an image of the net's heaving and hawing, as fishermen begin, struggle, and successfully pull their net in. While the book is an excellent read-aloud for all ages, the text's level of difficulty along with the unfamiliar Caribbean words make it an appropriate independent-read for children ages eight and older.