Review by Booklist Review
At the beginning of this title, a boy sits on the highest branch of a jungle, gazing up at the moon in a cloudless sky. Close to the end, the boy sits atop the highest roof in the city, gazing at a sky clogged with thick clouds that resemble a choking smog. These evocative bookends deepen the nuance of a tale inspired by the true story of Orundellico, a boy traded for a button and taken from his home in Tierra del Fuego in the early nineteenth century. Delivered to Victorian England, he became a celebrity in demand by no less than the royal family before his eventual return to his homeland. Sparing most of these details, which are explained in two short appended paragraphs, the story is told in an ingenuous style that is powerfully enhanced by the impressionistic art, replete with obscured adult figures and a melancholy tone. An unusual read-aloud is also a complex, unique offering for independent readers.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Exchanged for the single mother-of-pearl button that gave him his nickname, an indigenous Tierra del Fuegan boy named Orundellico spent many years in England in the early 1800s as part of a failed experiment in forced civilization. Less a biography than an attempt to represent this alienating experience from Jemmy's point of view, it is distinguished by lyrical prose-poetry ("Come away with us and taste our language, see the lights of our world," the British explorers tell Jemmy) and intensely creative and beautifully conceived paintings. On matte pages, Jemmy, a paper-doll figure with red ochre skin and curly black hair, walks naked through throngs of top-hatted and gowned silhouettes, all the same shade of blue. His guardians buy him clothes and take him to concerts, but the paintings show him always set apart from his companions. "Jemmy felt almost at home. Almost, but not quite." As a snapshot of colonial betrayal, it evokes regret, longing, guilt, and awe-an assortment of feelings that might make the book more attractive to grownups than to children. Ages 4-7. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-This picture book is based on the true story of Orundellico, a boy from Tierra del Fuego who was taken to Victorian England by a British sea captain. The captain gave the child's family a mother-of-pearl button in exchange for him, hence his nickname, "Jemmy Button." The boy experienced the music, food, and education of England, but realized where he belonged when he returned home. These historical details are related via an endnote, but the story itself wisely focuses on the emotions and sensory experiences of Orundellico's journey. From the cover where he peeks out through lush greenery, to the vast visions of the night sky over the island, illustrations of Orundellico's home pop with color. The scenes in England, in contrast, feature muted tones, with people who appear only as silhouettes, emphasizing the boy's sense of displacement. This treatment brings the story home for young readers and provides an excellent discussion-starter.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Words by Alix Barzelay. In 1830, British sea captain Robert FitzrRoy took (abducted?) a fourteen-year-old Patagonian to London to Christianize and educate him. In this romantic visualization of a problematic historical incident, gouache, oil, and collage illustrations show Jemmy as a small, naked, nature-loving boy and celebrate the contrasting environments of jungles, the sea, and crowded cityscapes. This interpretation may inspire readers to investigate the real story. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In this true story, an indigenous boy from Tierra del Fuego is transported to London in the early 1800s, where he encounters a vastly different world. Living on a "faraway island" a boy named Orundellico climbs the tallest trees, views the stars, listens to the ocean and wonders what's "on the other side." Strangers arrive in a ship, call him Jemmy Button and invite him to visit their land. Reaching the other side of the ocean, Jemmy finds houses made of rocks "stacked in towers taller than the tallest tree." The people, colors, noises and costumes make him feel "very small indeed." Soon, he's wearing their clothes, attending concerts, and even meeting the king and queen, but he never quite feels at home. When the time comes, he returns to the island, announcing: "My name is Orundellico and I have come home." The powerful, spare text contrasts Jemmy's innocent island life with the isolation he feels in England. His alienation is cleverly reinforced by gauche, oil and collage illustrations using flat patterns and color to compare the island's verdant vegetation and quiet, starry nights with the sterile, geometric shapes of urban London. Diminutive, flesh-colored, bemused Jemmy always stands out in a sea of repetitive, anonymous, faceless silhouettes. The ultimate home-away-home story, beautifully rendered. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
