Customer Reviews

Metal Man

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reynolds, Aaron. Metal Man. Illustrated by Paul Hoppe. Charlesbridge. 2008.

This is a very sweet story about a young African-American boy who loves to watch his neighbor who he calls the "Metal Man" weld metal sculptures. His mom says that the man is just making junk and that "makin' junk out of junk ain't a real job." But the little boy thinks, "Looks like work to me." He sees shapes and objects, and poignantly comments, "When I hang out with the metal man, I get it right. I see what I see. Not like school." The mixed media illustrations in predominantly yellow, brown and blue shades portray an energetic thoughtful boy: emotions flit across his face as he admiringly observes the metal works artist, and then imagines a piece of artwork he would like the artist to create for him, "I wanna make a house in a star". Together, they cut out pieces for a "star-house" and then the "metal man" reminds the young boy to step away while he welds the pieces together with the "angry fire" he characterizes as "killer bees". This lovely paean to creativity showcases a tender interaction between the boy and the man, presents a simple yet vivid description of the process of welding, and reveals a touching change in perspective on the part of the boy's mother, "I'm seein' things different, and maybe Mama is too, all because of that fiery metal man." This is a beautifully rendered book that deserves a wide audience.

Metal Man is a children's picturebook told from the point of view of an African-American boy during the heat of summertime. The young boy befriends a welder to turns junk into the most amazing things! The vibrant drawings of award-winning artist Paul Hoppe practically burst off the page in this unabashed celebration of the joys of summer, family, and creating artworks through metal welding.

This is a great story about seeing art in every day, and about doing art. (It's not a great story about how I can construct a sentence. Sorry about that one!)

The pictures are alive and active, and fit the words well.

The text... well, the text is written in a non-standard dialect. As far as I'm concerned, this is all for the best. It is GOOD for children to know that not everybody speaks the same way, that other people speak differently (or, alternatively, that there's nothing wrong with the way they speak at home). It is GOOD for people to have more than one way to speak. The person who has two dialects is twice as smart and able as the person who only has one. There is nothing shameful in speaking differently from one another, no more than there is in thinking differently. What a terribly dreary world this would be if we all spoke the same way! If you love language, you let it live, and languages live through changing.

But if you're the sort who prefers your language dead in the dictionary, please - read before you buy.

A nice story that goes awry when an adult "tries" to narrate poor grammar on a child's voice to tell the story. No joke...here are some lines: ----"Whatcha makin', Metal Man" I say. He don't answer. He never does. "Whaddya see?" That's all he says. It don't look like nothing yet.----My child usually asks to have a book read over and over. This one left us exhausted after one read. The only reference we did like was the one to the El Train, 'us being from Chicago and all'.