Rebel - Hardcover

Grade 2-5-This picture book shows the fear and repression of a society under military rule, and how a symbolic act of rebellion can give hope through laughter and impart strength through unity. When a general and his tanks storm into a Burmese village, they crush all of the playground equipment in the schoolyard. The general gathers the townspeople together and says, "'You are my people now. I have the tanks and the soldiers, and you have nothing.'" Then, a small thong is thrown, knocking off his hat. Enraged, he orders all the children to stand before him. They are, of course, all barefoot when they appear, causing his soldiers to laugh. The story is told economically, with a staccato rhythm that suits the harshness of the situation. Appropriately muted colors, predominantly khaki and dust, are used in the watercolor-and-pencil illustrations. Some of the dramatically composed pictures are laid out in panels, which effectively underlines their meaning. A "David and Goliath" variant with a real ogre, this would work well as a companion piece to the Haitian story in Diane Wolkstein's The Magic Orange Tree (Schocken, 1987), "I'm Tipingee, She's Tipingee, We're Tipingee, Too." While of somewhat limited appeal, this is a thought-provoking book that many libraries will want to consider.
Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4-8. A child uses ridicule to undermine a military tyrant in this moving story set in Burma. Menace builds as the General marches into the village. His soldiers kick down doors and tower over the people in the street. The portraits of the crowd, in watercolor and pencil, are achingly individualized, especially the tense group of children who watch from their classroom window as tanks smash their playground. Opposite them the strutting conqueror clanks his medals: "You are my people now," he tells everyone. Then several consecutive narrow panels show a small, battered thong sandal thrown from the school, flying through the air, and finally knocking off the great General's hat. Furious, he orders the whole school outside so that he can find the child with a missing thong. Children and teachers line up together. At first, we see them only from the waist up; then, covering the page is a glorious spread of everyone's feet--all bare. Their thongs are piled high in the school, and everyone is laughing. The tension and surprise make this a great read-aloud. It's based on a real incident, and older kids might want to connect it with other stories of courage and civil disobedience. Hazel Rochman