Sunshine Island, Moonshine Baby

More than any other children's book I've read, this is the one that has set me thinking about storytelling, narrative and the ways in which we invent our pasts by the stories we tell of them. A little West Indian girl growing up in this country listens to the tales told by a group of old ladies about their childhoods in a far-off land. The joy of the book is in these tellings and in their distinctive voices. The language is warm, vivid, imaginative. The older characters are treated generously and truthfully: that's still too rare in books for this age group. Very fine pictures from an artist whose work is always worth watching. Ideal for story sessions for sevens-up-though I know that middle schoolers and younger secondaries enjoy it too.