TIKVAH: Children's Book Creators Reflect on Human Rights

Originally published in a limited edition in 1999 by the University of Connecticut, this handsomely produced volume affords 45 children's author/illustrators the opportunity to reflect on various aspects of human rights. Each contributor receives a spread, with one page for text and the facing page for art. Despite the book's title (the Hebrew word for "hope") the entries frequently strike notes of caution—and even outrage. Some employ vague or general terms, but most focus on specific issues or injustices. Normand L. Chartier and Ruth Sanderson condemn abortion; Lillian Hoban, Marianna Mayer and Jeanette Winter decry child labor practices; William Joyce describes joining the first integrated class at his Louisiana middle school; Betsy and Giulio Maestro discuss the importance of teaching tolerance to ensure religious freedom; Anita Lobel, in an excerpt from No Pretty Pictures, underscores the horror of the Holocaust; and Gloria Jean and Jerry Pinkney crusade against childhood hunger. The illustrations range in tone from comforting (Emily Arnold McCully depicts a child, a towhead in overalls, watching the autumn leaves fall) to the unsettling (Trina Schart Hyman paints a woman whose breasts have been cut away at the hands of two "doctors" representing Patriarchy and Technology: "They have poisoned her with their chemicals, so her hair is gone and her mind and eyes are dead"). Adult rather than young fans of the contributors will be the likeliest audience. Ages 14-up. (Oct.)