From Publishers Weekly
Stock ( Armien's Fishing Trip ) returns to Africa in her latest work, which follows a girl on her trek to a small village school near the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe. Her full-spread watercolors, highlighting the variegated browns and greens of the African veld, beautifully depict the country's diverse land formations, vegetation and animal population. Her narrative, too, paints a picture: "The calls of the woodland kingfishers tremble through the air as Manyoni crosses the fever tree pan . . . and enters the shady kloof where the shy impala feed." Action is minimal--the text is more vignette than story--allowing the reader to concentrate on the sumptuous landscapes. Stock concludes with a glossary, a picture dictionary of the various animals that appear in the illustrations and a brief note about how she set about painting them. The endpapers, notes Stock, contain copies of cave paintings "made by indigenous people . . . thousands of years ago. The land and its inhabitants probably appeared very much to them as it did to me." Ages 4-8. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-In text and illustrations, Stock tells the story of a child's long walk to school in rural Zimbabwe. She begins her journey in the family's outdoor kitchen and, along her way, passes a giant baobab tree, the dry bed of the Limpopo River, a bushpig foraging among the fig trees, baboons near the malala palms, the woodland kingfishers, the kloof (ravine), the koppies (boulders), the krantz (cliffs) above the dam, and the plains that lead to the village where her school is located. The book concludes with a much-needed glossary of unfamiliar geographical words and a picture list of the animals featured in the text. While the watercolor illustrations are certainly accurate and quite lovely, there is no story to speak of- only a chronicle of the girl's lengthy trek. The expansive double-page spreads provide plenty of opportunities for youngsters to search for Manyoni and to identify a rich array of wildlife. While the narrative is not as strong as the artwork, youngsters will enjoy this glimpse at a universal experience in another part of the world.Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Siena College Library, Loudonville, NYCopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Manyoni is on her way to school; she gets up at dawn to walk two hours across the plain, along the Limpopo riverbed, through ``the shady kloof where the shy impala feed,'' ``past the red sandstone koppies,'' ``over the krantz above Tobwani Dam,'' and on to the tidy village with its brick school, where there's still time to play with her friends before class. As seen in Stock's beautifully rendered impressionistic watercolors, which were painted in rural Zimbabwe, this is an idyllic world, untouched by man except for ancient cave paintings (seen on the endpapers), a few pleasingly decorated thatched huts, and a tractor and some domestic animals in the village. Wild animals and birds are on almost every spread--more than 30 in all, recapitulated in a final illustrated note. From the simple title spread of lacy baobabs against the starry purply-lavender dawn sky, a lovely book that draws the reader right in with Manyoni, among the rocks and trees. Pronouncing glossary. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
"Manyoni is on her way to school; she gets up at dawn to walk two hours across the plain, along the Limpopo riverbed....As seen in Stock's beautifully rendered impressionistic watercolors...wild animals and birds are on almost every spread--more than 30 in all....A lovely book that draws the reader right in."--Kirkus Reviews. Pronouncing glossary.


Card catalog description
A child living near the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe encounters several wild animals on her way to school.


About the Author
Catherine Stock lives in New York City and France.

ANNOTATION

A child living near the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe encounters several wild animals on her way to school.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Manyoni is on her way to school; she gets up at dawn to walk two hours across the plain, along the Limpopo riverbed....As seen in Stock's beautifully rendered impressionistic watercolors...wild animals and birds are on almost every spread—more than 30 in all....A lovely book that draws the reader right in."—Kirkus Reviews. Pronouncing glossary.