Review by Booklist Review
Daily life for Cauã and his sister, Inaê, consists of banana porridge breakfast, a boat ride to school, and catching glimpses of the porpoises and alligators that inhabit the Tapajós river, one of the largest in the Amazon rain forest. But when winter reaches their riverside community, bringing torrential rains, Cauã's family and neighbors must pack up their belongings and head inland to avoid the rising waters. Vilela's use of bold strokes, collage, and mixed woodcut prints creates textured and immersive spreads. Perplexingly, he depicts the boat driver, Zé, largely as a silhouette, except for flesh-colored hands and a purple hat, while all the other named characters are given expressive faces. Although the author does not explicitly impart an environmental message, this window into the lives of Tapajós' inhabitants and their adaptations leaves one wondering how such communities will be affected by global warming. A subplot in which the siblings embark on a rescue mission for their tortoise, Titi, adds a dash of excitement. A more informative companion to Along the River (2017), by Vanina Starkoff.--Jessica Agudelo Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--This import depicts the life of Cauã and Inaê, two siblings living on the banks of the Tapajó river in the Amazonian region of Brazil. In the mornings, after a breakfast of banana porridge, their friend Zé takes them to school in his boat. Along the way they encounter many animals that make their home along the river, including alligators and porpoises. When they finally get to school and it starts to rain, readers get to meet the real main character in this story: rain. Rain, they will find out, rules the lives of the inhabitants of the region. By the time the children get back home, their parents have loaded all their belongings onto a boat and are ready to leave. Every year when the rains come, the whole village moves to higher ground, leaving their houses behind. This year, after the move, the children realize they have left their pet tortoise behind and, risking the rising waters and a giant anaconda, return to rescue it. Employing mixed woodcut techniques with drawing and collage, award-winning Brazilian author and illustrator Vilela brings to life the lush setting of the story. The images are vibrant and full of movement, the heavy black outlines contributing to the drama. VERDICT This beautiful book belongs in all picture book collections, specially given the dearth of books about the inhabitants of the Amazon region.--Lucia Acosta, Children's Literature Specialist, Princeton, NJ
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Brother and sister risk the dangers of a flood and animals to rescue their pet tortoise.Siblings Cau and Ina live on the banks of Brazil's Tapajs River, one of the biggest in the Amazon rainforest. Like many other children, they wake up, travel via boat to school, and come back home. However, each year, when the rains begin and the river rises enough to cover whole houses, the entire town packs up and travels down the river to a safer location, leaving only their houses behind. Spreads with furious rain, similar to Daniel Miyares' Float (2015), signal overpowering change to the town. The calm after the storm brings the community's cyclical move inland as they "unload everything from the boat and put it on the oxcart." Brazilian author/illustrator Vilela and translator Hahn share the story of a brother and sister, who, realizing they left pet tortoise Titi behind, decide to row all day, back to their mostly underwater village, and recover him. However, the unexpected dangers lurking in the water, jungle, and abandoned village might risk their rescue mission. The vibrant colors in Vilela's illustrations and the expressive faces of Cau and Ina bring lightheartedness to their dangerous journey and the cyclical living it prescribes. This is neatly encapsulated in the endpapers, which depict bright birds perched on the struts of the platform supporting the village in the front and fish swimming among those selfsame struts in the rear.A riveting journey. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
