Bonjour, Lonnie

This work is truly a piece of art on so many levels. The story is wonderful (if a bit hard to follow - it needs several readings) and the art work is beyond question of the highest quality. As an adult, I enjoyed this one from cover to cover. The subject of mulitculturalism is addressed in a wonderful and pragmatic way. There is of course an element of magic here, and it is delightfully done. On the other hand...I am just not sure at what age the child should be when I would feel comfortable reading it to them. Parts of this book are very, very dark, real, but dark. I am not sure I want to explain the holocaust, war time romances, etc. to a class of second or third graders. There is much here that would be quite over the head of even older children. I would have been quite comfortable discussing and reading this with my children when they were quite young, but then they already knew much that was addressed in this story. Not every kid does. There are parts of this book that are quite disturbing and other parts that are quite sweet. I do agree with another reviewer who was glad there were books like this that actually had some meat to them, and did not avoid unpleasing subjects. On the other hand, I agree with yet another reviewer that caution should be taken when reading this to a child. I suggest you know the child. This is another of those books which should force parents to be parents and have them make some dicision for their kids when the kids are too you to make their own. I do give this book five stars as it is one of the best done books in this genre that I have read for some time now. I am just not sure it is for everyone. I think I would give this one a read before I read it to my kid.

Bonjour Lonnie by Faith Ringgold is a fable based in realism, filled with the beautifully imaginative images of the artist and author. Lonnie is an orphan who follows a magical Love Bird to Paris, where he discovers his family history. He finds out that he is African American, French and Jewish and that his life mirrors some of the most significant events of the 20th century. His heritage has been molded by the World War I Harlem Hell Fighters Troop, the Harlem Renaissance, the African American experience in Paris, the Holocaust and an escape to America. Readers will be happy to follow Lonnie's adventures to a home and family of his own. This book is unique in that it weaves serious content into a children's book in a most appropriate way. Important issues are presented for children to consider, question and explore with the guidance of parents and teachers. How refreshing it is to find a book that is not afraid to include "real life" content. Today's students are multi-racial, multi -lingual and certainly multi-cultural. It's high time that our children can enjoy and be challenged by a book like Bonjour Lonnie.