The Churki-Burki Book of Rhyme

K-Gr 3—Part narrative, part original poetry, this book relates a day in the life of two sisters who live in a rural village in India. Churki and Burki start their day with a breakfast of millet and greens outside while listening to the rooster call "Kikiree-kee!" Afterward they help to gather firewood, play games with friends, go fishing with their father, pick vegetables, and end the day with a big pot of curry. The girls sing a little rhyme wherever they go. To an American picture book audience, the book is wordy and unfocused. The rhyming sequences aren't distinguished from the narrative, and aspects of daily life are mentioned without elaboration. A seemingly dramatic incident in which Churki and Burki encounter a group of women up in a tree and realize that wild jackals have come to eat their corn is handled as just another episode in the sisters' day. However, this title may have powerful resonance for Indian immigrants wishing to share village culture from their home country with the next generation. Beautiful line drawings in the Gond folk style of central India—cat-eyed figures filled with hennalike embellishments and tropical hues—are printed on heavy cream pages. Purchase where there is a significant Indian community or as a supplement to multicultural units.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI