There Is a Tribe of Kids

Reviewed by: Jill O'Connor - North Yarmouth Academy, Yarmouth, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 9, 2017

Review

Leave it to Lane Smith to find whimsy and adventure in collective nouns. As he plays with the language of these groupings, his leaf-clad protagonist journeys across various landscapes to mingle with the nature around him be it animal, rock, or plant. With a gorgeous palette of colors, Smith uses his dappled illustrations to show the child interacting with its surroundings - a lovely sequence shows the child moving like a jellyfish (a smack) or another as a caterpillar (an army). There is a longing in the journey to be home with a tribe of one's own and, happily, this is the outcome in the end. A fantastic book to use to explain the language of collective nouns, but also one for predictive storytelling as each next creature or habitat is shown prior to the child's interaction with it. A must-buy for any collection.

Overall Book Score: excellent