Available:*
Library | Material Type | Shelf Number | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Central Library | Juvenile Book | E ISAD | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Old Mikamba had a farm, E-I-E-I-O. And on this farm he had a giraffe, a baboon and an elephant! Caldecott Honor winner Rachel Isadora has set the classic children's song 'Old MacDonald' on the plains of Africa, where Old Mikamba watches over a variety of animals on his game farm - from roaring lions and chirping ostriches to bellowing rhinos and honking wildebeests. Providing a wonderful introduction to African wildlife, this truly unique rendition of a much loved song gives children a whole new set of fun animal sounds to try out as they enjoy the collage-style artwork.
Author Notes
Rachel Isadora was born and raised in New York City. Rachel studied at the School of American Ballet and was a dancer with the Boston Ballet until a foot injury. She went from being a ballet dancer to an author and illustrator.
The first title she wrote and illustrated was Max. Since then she has written many others including Golden Bear, Ben's Trumpet, Nick Plays Baseball, Caribbean Dream, Mr. Moon and Not Just Tutus.
Her works have earned her several awards including the Caldecott Honor Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award. Her title Max, was named an ALA Notable Book.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
As she did in There Was a Tree, Isadora sets this riff on a classic children's song in Africa. Using "Old MacDonald" as a template, her rendition introduces 14 wild residents of a game farm and the sounds they make. With a few exceptions (dassie, springbok), the species will be familiar to most readers, and their phonetically punchy utterings, which include a baboon's "OOH-HA-HA" and a wildebeest's "HONK-HONK," are fun to imitate while singing along. Though Isadora's earth-toned, mixed-media illustrations are uncluttered-the animals appear against mostly white backdrops with minimal landscape-there is complexity within. The collages feature an inventive assortment of textures and patterns: elephants' and rhinos' hides are newsprint, wildebeests' fur resembles wood grain, and giraffes' spots are swatches of patterned textiles; borders feature the scrubby vegetation and low hills of the book's plains setting. Intriguing incidental facts about each animal (no two zebras have the same stripe pattern; there are more than 370 species of parrots) are included at the end of the book, which strikes a neat balance between being rousing and soothing. Ages 3-5. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
A familiar childhood song gets an African twist in Isadora's latest picture book. She takes readers on safari to the plains of Africa to meet elephants, cheetahs, and dassies (E-I-E-I-O). Old Mikamba's farm is a game park, so while there is some interaction between the two small children in the book and the animals, most of them are presented against a backdrop wilder and freer than any space Old MacDonald could offer his domestic stock. Rhinos BELLOW-BELLOW through the grass; a springbok AH-AH-AHs across a sun-baked terrain; and an elephant BARAAA-BARAAAs with a baby following behind. While the animal sounds are fun and lend themselves perfectly to a storytime rendition, the artwork is a particular treat. Isadora incorporates oil, ink, pencil, and printed paper to create collages that give a distinct sense of place, set against plentiful white space that allows the animals to pop on each double-page spread. An extensive concluding note provides interesting facts about all of the animals included, as well as a mention of the role game farms and parks play in protecting Africa's endangered species.--Dean, Kara Copyright 2010 Booklist