A Good Trade. Alma Fullerton. Illustrated by Karen Patkau. Toronto, ON: Pajama Press, 2012. 32 pp., hardcover, $19.95. ISBN 978-0-9869495-9-3. Subject Headings: Ugandan children-Juvenile literature. Children and war-Uganda-Juvenile literature. Poverty-Uganda-Juvenile literature. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by David Ward. **** /4 Reviewed from f&gs.

excerpt:

Near the village square,
Kato dawdles
As an aid worker’s truck
Rumbles to a halt,
And he peeks inside.

Rushing through his chores,
Kato runs to the garden
And stops
When he spies
the single white poppy…

First in line,
Kato gives his poppy to a woman,
Who makes a good trade.

In his small Ugandan village,
Kato dances with friends,
Wearing
His brand-new shoes.

As educators, we often tell our young students to look at the pictures when we read. The pictures reveal clues that will help us read the story and to better understand it. The images and text of A Good Trade complement one another to the point of poetic consistency. The text and the images are both complex and simple: concept easy, content load heavy. The prose is lyrical, playful and inviting to young listeners or readers with words such as “poppy” and “rut-filled hill”. Yet, there are potential story-stopping words too: “Jerry cans”, “borehole”, and “aid worker”. For every challenging word, however, there is a corresponding image, pictures simple enough to convey meaning and yet complex in colour and perspective. One image shows only the upper portion of Kato’s face as he peeks into the back of an aid worker’s truck to find many pairs of colourful shoes.

     The message of A Good Trade is equally daring. Author and illustrator have created a marvelous balance of apathy and respect. When Kato presents a rare white poppy flower to the aid worker, she honours his present with her own: shoes for all his friends. One of his friends is missing a leg. An allusion to soldiers indicates that war and trouble are constants in Kato’s village in Uganda.

     I thoroughly enjoyed this story from beginning to end. It will make an excellent discussion starter in social studies classes (as a supplement up to grade seven) and as a read-aloud in K-2.

Highly Recommended.

A children’s author, David Ward is an assistant professor at Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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