Is It Far to Zanzibar?: Poems about Tanzania [Hardcover]

Nikki Grimes (Author), Betsy Lewin (Author), Clifford Alexander Parms (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up

From mist- and mystery-shrouded Mount Meru to a young girl's coming home to her family's relentless hospitality, to a hungry lion prowling the Serengeti Plain, to a bus crowded with squawking chickens and curious billy goats (not to mention people!) -- thirteen lively poems and piquant watercolors capture the sights, sounds, and scenery of Tanzania.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-These 13 poems are attractively surrounded by small, lively, and expressive watercolor paintings depicting aspects of life in villages, in the countryside, and in the marketplace. One dreamy painting of Mount Meru against an apricot twilight provides a contrast in mood to the other illustrations, which are cheerful, sometimes comical, and energetic. The concluding vocabulary list and the map of Tanzania may be clues to the essentially educational purpose of these poems. Grimes's subjects include hot pepper, families picking coffee together, a child chased up a tree by a lion, and a mango seller. These selections, though, seem curiously flat-the simple laundry lists of what is seen or statements of fact seem more like observations set to rhyme than evocations of what is felt or of what may be imagined. This is not helped by the occasional infelicitous meter: "Mount Meru" begins, "In Arusha, there's a mountain./There's a mountain known as Meru./First it's there, then disappearing./Wrapped in mist, how it misleads you."-Marian Drabkin, Richmond Public Library, CA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This work is very different from Grimes' powerful poetry and realistic fiction about city kids in the U.S. Here the rhyming, sing-song verse is light and playful, an outsider's view of a Tanzania where everyone's having fun: tourists are on camels, local kids and adults are on bikes, trucks, and jam-packed buses ("I safiri, you safiri. / Everyone is on safari."). One child picks coffee and also finds time to play. Another is chased by a lion. In the rainy season "Five goats, four ewes, / three snakes, two gnus, / and one field mouse" all squeeze inside the house. Traders come from everywhere to see what grows in Zanzibar ("cloves and ginger growing wild / chili peppers hot and mild"). Lewin's active cartoon-style watercolors pick up the jaunty rhythms and the mix of animals, foods, and people. Hazel Rochman

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688131573
• ISBN-13: 978-0688131579
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #703,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nikki Grimes conveyed the fire-in-the-belly fervor of a Harlem girl who knows she was born to write in Jazmin's Notebook, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. In My Man Blue, a Booklist Editor's Choice and Newsweek Children's Books of the Year selection, her artful words expressed a boy's journey from skepticism to trust. And now with Bronx Masquerade she presents a rich chorus of eighteen voices, singing openly about ideas, feelings, and questions--things that open minds, invite debate, provide release. A recent Booklist review proclaims: "As always, Grimes gives young people exactly what they're looking for--real characters who show them they are not alone."An accomplished poet, novelist, journalist, and educator, Ms. Grimes was born and raised in New York City and now lives in the Los Angeles area.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A spicy taste of Tanzania, January 10, 2001

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Is It Far to Zanzibar?: Poems about Tanzania (Hardcover)

In "Is it Far to Zanzibar?" the poems of Nikki Grimes combine with the beautiful illustrations of Betsy Lewin to paint a portrait of the African nation of Tanzania. Many of the poems incorporate Swahili words, and a useful Swahili-English vocabulary at the end of the book adds to its educational value. Also useful is a full-page map of Tanzania which shows the location of Zanzibar Island, Mount Meru, and other important landmarks.

The poems and illustrations introduce readers to the people, customs, food, animals, and geographic features of Tanzania. Grimes favors appealing, song-like rhymes in her poems. For example, "A Taste of Zanzibar" begins, "Go to Zanzibar to see / a nutmeg bush, a cashew tree." Lewin's watercolor illustrations are colorful and have an energetic grace to them.

Both the poet and the illustrator seem to take great delight in their subjects. As the book progresses, we encounter a crowded bus ride, an elderly mango peddler's cheerful song, the majesty of Mount Meru, the hot peppers that spice Tanzanian food, and other African delights. This is a wonderful book for children who are interested in poetry, in the Swahili language (or foreign languages in general), or in African life and culture.