October 23, 1932

Books for Children

POPO AND FIFINA Children of Haiti. By Arna Bontemps & Langston Hughes. Illustrations by E. Simms Campbell.

ere is a travel book that is a model of its kind. Facts, indeed, the reader acquires, but unconsciously, for what he feels is the atmosphere of the island of Haiti, dusty little roads that wind along the hills, sun-drenched silences only broken by the droning of insects and the cry of tropical birds, silver sails on clear green water, sheets of warm, white rain.

Little black Popo and Fifina and their father and mother are slightly drawn, since the book is small in size; but the family creates in the reader's mind the feeling of reality. One follows their adventures, the simple everyday happenings, with interest. The book has some of the simple homelike atmosphere that has made "The Dutch Twins" such a favorite. Older readers will recognize that the beauty of the style has much to do in holding the reader's attention, and younger readers will unconsciously be held by the same quality. "Popo and Fifina" tempts us to wish that all our travel books for children might be written by poets. The illustrations are charmingly childlike and humorous. For boys and girls 7 to 10.

Return to the Books Home Page