Books that move to their own stylish rhythm

August 14, 2005

Punk Farm
By Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Knopf, 40 pp., ages 4-9, $15.95

Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan
Written by Mary Williams
Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Lee & Low, 40 pp., ages 7-12, $17.95

The Secret to Freedom
Written by Marcia Vaughan
Illustrated by Larry Johnson
Lee & Low, 32 pp., ages 7-10, paperback, $7.95

Jose! Born to Dance
Written by Susanna Reich
Illustrated by Raul Colon
Simon & Schuster, 32 pp., ages 6 and up, $16.95

The best picture books are like a dance -- they move, change, surprise, and fluctuate, all within a contained form, as this month's selections prove. ''Punk Farm," by Bostonian Jarrett J. Krosoczka, takes the old song ''Old MacDonald Had a Farm" to new decibels. On the farm, hidden in the barn, is a punk band composed of cow (on drums), goat (bass), pig (guitar), chicken (keyboard), and sheep (vocals). The book is fearless in conception and execution, a jazzy comic bit of thievery and transformation. It does not look or sound or behave like your father's old picture book -- the lyrics slam and slide across each boldly bright page, and the crowd ''goes crazy," dancing to their favorite tune. No wonder at dawn each day, the animals are snoozing in the barn. Fans can even log on to www.punkfarm.com to ''download their barn-burning single."

''Brothers in Hope" stretches the boundaries of the standard picture book, fictionalizing the true story of thousands of boys who survived deadly attacks in Sudan and walked in organized bands across borders, braving every imaginable hardship and danger. Yet it is a tender story of hope, help, and courage, which author Mary Williams, founder of the Lost Boys Foundation, tells with economy and grace. She uses the voice of a fictional narrator named Gareng, who brings his 35 boys to safety, remembering his father's injunction: ''Gareng, be brave. Your heart and mind are strong. There is nothing you cannot do."

R. Gregory Christie takes on the challenge of this powerful story in art that is unsentimental, elemental, character-driven, and bold, in earth tones and dynamic black strokes, the heads of the children supernaturally large, as if to brand the image of their faces on the reader's heart. The Lost Boys are based on real boys of Sudan. There are too many such true stories. To treat such a subject with moments of lightness and sweetness is a great and worthy task.