Postcards

This visionary book, in English and Arabic, demonstrates the necessity of learning to 'listen with another's ears' in order to communicate across cultures and peacefully resolve conflict.

In a remote village, black cats and blonde cats live in ongoing conflict until a grey cat is born. He is wise and impartial, so they ask him to be their ruler. He instructs all the cats to take off their ears. He gives the blonde ears to the black cats and the black ears to the blonde cats. Only when they learn to truly listen will they have peace.

This book is an essential tool for discussing communication across any cultural, racial or class divide. The unresolved ending leaves room for speculation about what these cats will be able to say to one another now that they are listening with other ears.

Dedwase's colour ful illustrations are lively and engaging and complement the text admirably.

For the young who learn from ABC books and for older book lovers who relish the artistry and invention often found in them, here is a uniquely delightful example of this venerable genre. Weill, who teaches bilingual teachers at Columbia University's Teachers College in New York City, also works to promote the craftwork of artisans from developing countries. After seeing the magnificent animals carved from wood by the Jimenéz brothers of Oaxaca, Mexico, she chose the ABC book format to introduce others to their extraordinary work.

KB Basseches, who has served as a photographer for the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, demonstrates her skill in the vivid images she has made of the eye-catching colourful animals created by the Jimenéz brothers with the help of their families. The result of this collaboration is a book of unusual beauty for an educational purpose.

Mammoth Pie is another delightful title from the talented British writer/illustrator team who have also given us such enjoyable tales as TADPOLE' S PROMISE , MISERY MOO and DAFT BAT.

The tale begins with a very thin, hungry caveman dreaming of dining on something more mouth-watering than his usual weeds and seeds. Atop a nearby mountain lives a fat mammoth. The caveman, Og, plots to capture the mammoth and make himself a hearty meal. One by one, he enlists the help of his fellow cavemen, promising them a piece of delicious mammoth pie in return for their assistance.

In this ideal read-aloud are rhythmic rhyming phrases which beg young listeners to join in with the reader. As the mammoth sees the overly confident cavemen approaching, he remains completely unfazed. Og has his fellow cavemen to help him, but the mammoth turns out to have much more impressive back-up.

Ross's vibrant illustrations in watercolour and ink convey...