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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful lyrical description of the cycle of life and of business, November 8, 2010
This is one of my favorite children's books in English. It is lyrical, fun to read out loud, and yet it deals with important issues: poverty, hard times, the cycle of life, and even the business cycle. Unlike most children's books dealing with these issues, it doesn't soft pedal the hard facts. Life comes from life. If you want to eat, you have to be willing to take the life of another being, and nothing is for free, but people can still help each other, by trading one person's work for another's work product. Especially at Christmas time, when there are so many books that suggest we can get something for nothing, The Secret River would make a great gift for the child in your life.
The illustrations by Leonard Weisgard are well worth the price of the book. I suggest getting the old version instead of the new one.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
breathtaking illustrations, December 29, 2010
The book is a work of art. I gasped at the illustrations. It was a pleasure to revisit this children's book: it's even more relevant today than ever. Universal messages.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Young Heroine in Amazing Story, January 22, 2011
I love it when I find truly admirable heroines for readers in elementary school. Calpurnia is such a heroine. Once she finds out her family [and the other people who live nearby] are going through hard times, she seeks out a wise woman, Mother Albirtha, who tells her about a secret river full of fish. Without giving away any spoilers, Calpurnia goes in search of this secret river and basically does what she needs to do, showing courage, grace, humor, inventiveness, and compassion. There are so many wonderful touches in this story, both in the plot line and in the amazing drawings by Leo and Diane Dillon. Calpurnia is determined and generous, but she's also real and funny. For example, she likes making up little poems, and she's attached to her pudgy dog, Buggy-horse. In my opinion, this book is about both generosity [in its physical forms] and generosity of spirit.
This would make for a great read-aloud classroom book for teachers or librarians [you'd need more than one session to finish it]. It has many elements from folktales and fairy tales in it, and it's also just a wonderful book to own. This one left me feeling awe-struck. I loved this wonderful book.
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