How do you stir the child's imagination? How do we pass on our values? How
do bring the child to love books; to see reading not as a chore but as an
exploration? Eura De Freitas has introduced answers to these questions, not
in an essay and not in the latest scholarly journal, but in her new
children's book: Metamorphosis! This Caribbean-born writer, award -winning
poet and educator, takes us from the Mediterranean to Africa; from living in
the skin of the Iguana, to carrying the weight of an elephant. Her detailed
and immersive illustrations, swift narration and dialogue, draw us into the
world of Alpha the Ant. And while we may contemplate the societal
implications of this little ant's desire to escape "work work", "stealing"
his meals from humans, never getting outside of the neighborhood, "living in
fear" and that need to "fly", children will simply love the pictures and the
neat story! Animal-Rights Activists may ruminate over Janvier the jaguar's
fear that he may be shot for his skin, feminists may investigate why Queenie
the quail "didn't want to be a girl" and scientists may be fascinated by
Xerina the chromosome; sociologists may examine the social stratification of
tree monkeys and zoo monkeys, but kids, kids will just have a ball as Alpha
goes from Queenie the quail to Casper the cat; Vinny the vicuna or Buster
the bat.
