Starred Review for Publishers Weekly

The creator of <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Village of Round and Square Houses sets another moving tale on African soil, this time recounting how a small village escapes a band of slave traders. Young Abikanile and her mother, Njemile, guide their fellow villagers in an ingenious escape, but it requires both courage and faith. In the style of an African storyteller, Grifalconi uses expressive prose to eloquently recount the anxious and poignant atmosphere as villagers prepare to flee deep into the forest to wait out the slavers. First, they must wipe out all traces of the village of Yao (except for the elder, Chimwala, who elects to stay and pose as a soothsayer): "The people stood back, then, leaning on their hoes, their tears wetting the soil where their homes had rested, as the smell of freshly turned earth rose about them." Nelson's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Just the Two of Us) oils, heavy on dusky tones, fill in finely detailed pencil drawings to convey the dense flora of the African jungle as well as the gait, poise and feelings of the villagers. Crosshatched shadings add subtle texture to their dark skin, while a small white flower or brightly colored batik provides sophisticated contrast. In an especially effective scene, Njemile tells her daughter of the slavers who "come riding in swiftly on horseback, shooting their long guns, capturing unarmed farmers" while shadowy images of them, guns raised at the ready, eerily appear as dark clouds against an orange sky. An uplifting tale of inner strength and courage. Ages 5-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)

School Library Journal Starred Review

Gr 2-6-In a folkloric style, Grifalconi tells of an African village whose inhabitants use their wits and their faith in the spirits of their ancestors to hide from the slavers who are approaching. Abikanile's mother devises the plan whereby the Yao dismantle their huts and till the ground where they stood to make it seem as if only one old woman, pretending to be a witch, lives in the vicinity. But it is Abikanile herself who, by calling on ancestral spirits, is shown the stepping stones hidden beneath the surface of the river that allow the villagers to escape. This story celebrating resourcefulness, quick thinking, and community solidarity may inspire and empower readers. Nelson's pencil drawings enhanced with oil paints are wonderfully evocative of place, mood, posture, and expression.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

ALA Booklist (Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2002)

The sub-Saharan Africa setting is an essential part of this slave escape story about how the Yao people save themselves from foreign marauders. Young Abikanile hears that the slavers are coming to her village on horseback with long guns. They have captured the young hunters. How will the women and children survive? The villagers work out a plan to make their homes disappear, not by fire that will attract attention but by taking apart their village. Stick by stick and stone by stone, they destroy the evidence of their lives and blend into the forest. The slavers storm in, but the village is gone. Abikanile finds a path of stones across the river, and she leads her people to freedom. Nelson's beautifully textured pictures in pencil and oils show the intricate, loving detail that drives the story. Each thread of cloth, each leaf of tree and stem of thatch, each stone and bit of soil is part of the natural whole, and ordinary people defeat the powerful by living in harmony with the small things.

Horn Book (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2003)

In an original tale, the Yao people evade approaching slavers, thanks to three female heroes. Mother Njemile proposes they hide in the forest; Grandmother Chimwala stands fast, posing as a hermit; while young Abikanile leads the tribe across the river. The illustrations reflect the story's gravity, and a ground-level point of view enhances the characters' dignity. This is a valuable and unusual addition to the literature about slavery.

Kirkus Reviews

In this powerful tale presented in the style of African storytelling, a girl, mother, and grandmother draw upon their individual strengths to help save their Yao village from slave traders. <p>In this powerful tale presented in the style of African storytelling, a girl, mother, and grandmother draw upon their individual strengths to help save their Yao village from slave traders. Grifalconi's (<i>Patrol</i>, p. 663, etc.) use of dialogue and narrative shows how young and old inspire others to overcome their fear by devising a clever idea that will save their people. Nelson's (<i>Brothers of the Night</i>, 2001, etc.) technique of combining photocopied pencil drawings with oil paints brings to life the lushness of the forest and gives a rich texture to the characters' faces. On the cover and in a double-page spread the clouds form a silhouette of the slave traders and foreshadow their coming. Warm hues and detail of line effectively capture the excitement of young Abikanile as she dances across a stone path in the river, the pride of Njemile as she convinces her people to trust in her plan, and the stubbornness of old Chimwala as she refuses to leave the place of her ancestors. Pictures of children eagerly listening to a storyteller spin her tale open and close the story. An author's note explains how a griot uses stories to teach young people their history as well as how to behave. A pronunciation key for the Yao names of the characters is provided to ensure that all who read or listen to this tale will learn " . . . one must answer not only with faith, but with courage . . . " <i>(Picture book. 7-10)</p>