Carnival

From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 2?A young child searches for her friend among the performers as she and her mother watch the carnival parade. Simple text describes the participants: patchwork clowns, drummers, and striped-faced ghost dancers. The parading figures, painted with flat shapes and bright flat colors, their faces reduced to a simple cipher, fill up the pages. This close-up view and lack of open space gives the feeling that readers are in the midst of the procession rather than merely watching it. The book gives no explanation of carnival, how it relates to any particular ethnic group or what other activities besides a parade might be included. For children who do not live in areas where it is celebrated, additional information will be needed to convey the uniqueness of this event.?Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KYCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. From