The Playgrounds of Babel
Will be published approx. on 12. September 2019
Book
Hardback
32 pages
978-1-77306-036-1 (ISBN)
Description
From the international best-selling author of Sidewalk Flowers and a world-renowned illustrator, this picture book is about the power of song, inspired by the story of the Tower of Babel.
This unusual, thought-provoking story begins with an old woman telling a tale to a group of children in a playground. One of the boys can't understand what she is saying, so another offers to translate. The old woman's tale is inspired by the Tower of Babel story: In the days when everyone spoke the same language, the people built a tower to reach God. But God was annoyed and sent a dragon to destroy the tower, then created new languages for everyone so that they couldn't understand each other. Fortunately, two little girls find a way to communicate through song.
Told entirely through dialogue, moving back and forth between the old woman's tale and the exchange between the two boys, this original, sometimes funny story raises questions about what divides us and what brings us together, in spite of all our differences - it is the power of song in this case, which ultimately brings hope.
Piet Grobler brings a masterful visual interpretation to this layered story, rendering the old woman and children in the playground in monochromatic tones and the characters in the old woman's tale in a naive style with vibrant color, complete with incomprehensible languages in hand-drawn speech balloons. An author's note explains JonArno Lawson's inspiration for the story.
Key Text Features
author's note
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.6
Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.9
Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.
This unusual, thought-provoking story begins with an old woman telling a tale to a group of children in a playground. One of the boys can't understand what she is saying, so another offers to translate. The old woman's tale is inspired by the Tower of Babel story: In the days when everyone spoke the same language, the people built a tower to reach God. But God was annoyed and sent a dragon to destroy the tower, then created new languages for everyone so that they couldn't understand each other. Fortunately, two little girls find a way to communicate through song.
Told entirely through dialogue, moving back and forth between the old woman's tale and the exchange between the two boys, this original, sometimes funny story raises questions about what divides us and what brings us together, in spite of all our differences - it is the power of song in this case, which ultimately brings hope.
Piet Grobler brings a masterful visual interpretation to this layered story, rendering the old woman and children in the playground in monochromatic tones and the characters in the old woman's tale in a naive style with vibrant color, complete with incomprehensible languages in hand-drawn speech balloons. An author's note explains JonArno Lawson's inspiration for the story.
Key Text Features
author's note
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.6
Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.9
Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.
Reviews / Votes
[A] simple, heartening tale about myth, ingenuity, and the human need to connect. * Quill & Quire * A conversation starter. * Kirkus Reviews *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Ontario
Canada
Target group
Children/juvenile
Interest Age: From 4 years
Product notice
Picture book
Illustrations
Full color throughout
Dimensions
Height: 258 mm
Width: 219 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
370 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-77306-036-1 (9781773060361)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
JONARNO LAWSON is the author of numerous books for children and adults, including The Playgrounds of Babel, illustrated by Piet Grobler, and Leap!, illustrated by Josee Bisaillon. He has also collaborated on books with Nelson Ball, Alec Dempster, Nahid Kazemi, Amjad Jaimoukha, Qin Leng, Daniel Ratthei and Sherwin Tjia. His most recent book is Wise Up! Wise Down!, a collaboration with the poet John Agard, illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura. JonArno lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his family.
PIET GROBLER is a world-renowned South African illustrator of children's books. He has illustrated ninety five books, which have been published in many languages, and he has won a number of awards, including two silver medals at the Noma Concours (Japan), the Octogone de Chene (France) and a Golden Apple at the Biennial of Illustration in Bratislava. He lives in Portugal and is the visiting Professor in Illustration at the University of Worcester, in the United Kingdom.
PIET GROBLER is a world-renowned South African illustrator of children's books. He has illustrated ninety five books, which have been published in many languages, and he has won a number of awards, including two silver medals at the Noma Concours (Japan), the Octogone de Chene (France) and a Golden Apple at the Biennial of Illustration in Bratislava. He lives in Portugal and is the visiting Professor in Illustration at the University of Worcester, in the United Kingdom.