Customer Reviews

Secret River

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I am a huge, huge fan of Leo and Diane Dillon's artwork, so I was excited to see that they were releasing a new book this year. The text actually originates from Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings 1956 Newbery Honor winning book. I wasn't sure how I felt about the fact that the text is abridged... but then much like when Rachel Field's 1930 Newbery winner, Hitty: Her First Hundred Years was abridged by Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers amidst much controversy a few years ago, I figured, well, why not? If it brings a classic to a new generation of readers, that can't be a bad thing, right? While The Secret River is in a picture book format, it's roots as a chapter book are evident in wordy pages with expressive language appropriate for second to fifth grade readers.

"There is a dark forest far away in Florida," the story begins. Young Calpurnia lives there with her parents and pet dog named Buggy-horse.

"At breakfast Calpurnia's father said, 'Hard times have come to the forest.' She said, 'What are hard times?' 'It means that everything is hard, and especially for poor people. She felt the table, she laid her hand on Buggy-horse's hard back and it was true: Everything seemed harder than usual. She asked, 'Are we poor people? I don't feel poor."

Worried that her father won't be able to sell fish at the market, Calpurnia makes pretty pink paper roses to bring to Mother Albirtha, who advises her to go to a secret river. Sure enough, Calpurnia finds it, and catches an absurd bounty of fish. Traveling home, she is accosted by an owl, a bear and a panther who each demand their share of the fish. Even though her supply of fish is now greatly reduced, Calpurnia doesn't forget her promise to Mother Albirtha, and brings her a fish as well, prompting Albirtha to exclaim, "Oh my goodness to the may-haw bush. Oh my goodness to the swamp maple."

She gives the rest of the fish to her father to sell to hungry people, "And so hard times in the forest turned to soft times." The Secret River has the cadence and feel of a long-forgotten fairy tale - the brave young girl with a soul of a poet, a magical solution for hard times, the repeating refrains, and incidents grouped in threes. The paintings are luminous. Endpapers feature two-tone catfish line drawings. This book is a must have, especially for audiences hungry for stories featuring African-American characters who are not dealing with antebellum or civil rights issues. During these tight financial times, Calpurnia's adventures may especially resonate with readers. The Dillons have successfully breathed new life into what is a timely and welcome return of an old classic. I highly recommend this book.

As someone who has enjoyed a lifelong interest in children's literature, I was a bit embarrassed to learn that Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings had written this book, about which I knew nothing. It arrived today, and I was immediately drawn into this splendid volume by the beautiful and sensitive illustration on the cover. Diane and Leo Dillon have outdone themselves in illustrating this charming tale about a proactive young heroine whose mystical adult friend helps her achieve an important goal. My husband doesn't usually have an interest in my library of children's books, but he, too, enjoyed this one. The story is well written, as one would expect from Ms. Rawlings, but the pictures outshine the text.

"The Secret River" is the story of a poor Black family living in a remote rural area of south Florida during the depression of the 30's. The protagonist, a little girl about 10 to 12 years old, whose parents are struggling to make it through hard times. They do not soften the truth of their situation in answering their daughter's queries.

The little girl is undaunted and firmly believes that somehow, she will find a way to help her family and her neighbors as well. On her perilous journey to discover the Secret River, she encounters and braves terrifying beasts. Yet, her spirit never flags, and somehow, she succeeds beyond hers and everyone else's dreams.

This story is a mixture of realism and phantasy that blends seamlessly into a delightful almost believable fairy tale. The illustrations are breathtakingly gorgeous, masterful, absolutely thrilling.

This is an absorbing, moving story that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. A winning combination of imaginative writing and superbly wrought, haunting paintings.

I was fortunate in finding this hardcover gem of a book on Amazon.com at a very modest price.

Regina Clark

I read this is too three boys ages 6, 5 and 3. They requested a second reading the following day and asked questions as we went along. I was surprised that the 3 year old understood the concept,however he was right there all the way.

Calpurnia's family is having hard times. Her father is not catching any fish. Calpurnia speaks to a friend, a fortune-teller and she tells Calpurnia about a secret river that is filled with fish. Calpurnia goes to the secret river and returns home with so many fish she can hardly carry them. On the way home, she encounters several predators who each accept a fish before walking away. Bringing the fish home ends the hard times for the family and their neighbors.

"Mother Albirtha rocked back and forth.

She said, `Child, I have not breathed this to a living soul, but I will tell you. There are big fish in the secret river. Oh my, the fish! Catfish, perch, bream, mudfish, and garfish. Especially catfish."

Pulitzer Prize winner Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings blends her writing talents with the Caldecott medalist winners Leo and Diane Dillon in THE SECRET RIVER, a fine survey about a secret river overflowing with fish. It's not on any map and Calpurnia and her dog find it only once - so when hard times come to the forest, she embarks on an expedition to do something nobody has ever done before: return. Gorgeous full-page color drawings accompany a story that is enhanced by good reading skills or parental assistance in a winning keepsake presentation.