Williams, K. (1990). Galimoto. Mulberry Books.
In this book Galimoto written by Karen Lynn Williams, a young boy named Kondi lives in a village in Africa and desires to create his own toy out of scrap wire that is found discarded around the village. The creation of a handmade toy out of wire is called making a galimoto, which in the short author’s note in the front of the book, Williams states that the term galimoto is from Malawi and may originate from the English term “motor car” inverted and pronounced differently. Kondi uses perseverance to find the supplies of wire here and there to create his treasure, and he is so proud of it because he made it and used creativity to create something fantastic out of scraps of trash. His determination rewarded him with a great toy and pride in having the best galimoto in the village for others to admire. Catherine Stock provides the soft and welcoming watercolors of Kondi’s day exploring his village, and the dappled colors and light are inviting to enjoy.
During one month in our multicultural display cases at Matthew Whaley each year, there is a display shown of African items, including several real galimotos. I always try to read this book around that month so I can show my students the real examples of galimotos in the display case. I took a few notes when illustrator for the book Catherine Stock came to our school for a visit in 2005. I remember that she said that as a writer and illustrator of her own books, she sees writing as being like a movie director, where you get to decide on the script, the costuming, the setting to shoot at, and the scenes you want to capture for the story. Stock expressed how much she enjoyed being an illustrator because as such, she is helping to create the visual movie in the reader’s head. I referred back to that idea several times throughout that school year, and brought it back up when I shared Galimoto with my class earlier this spring.
Be sure to check out illustrator (and also an author) Catherine Stock’s blog! It’s interesting to here about her influences, inspirations, observations, and thought processes on art and her life in France! http://letramizal.blogspot.com/ Also, be sure to check out both Karen Lynn Williams and Catherine Stock’s webpage links under my “Featured Authors and Illustrators” section to the right. There’s a lot of interesting things to read up on as a teacher and book appreciator, as well as to share with students about their inspirations and collaborations.
In this book Galimoto written by Karen Lynn Williams, a young boy named Kondi lives in a village in Africa and desires to create his own toy out of scrap wire that is found discarded around the village. The creation of a handmade toy out of wire is called making a galimoto, which in the short author’s note in the front of the book, Williams states that the term galimoto is from Malawi and may originate from the English term “motor car” inverted and pronounced differently. Kondi uses perseverance to find the supplies of wire here and there to create his treasure, and he is so proud of it because he made it and used creativity to create something fantastic out of scraps of trash. His determination rewarded him with a great toy and pride in having the best galimoto in the village for others to admire. Catherine Stock provides the soft and welcoming watercolors of Kondi’s day exploring his village, and the dappled colors and light are inviting to enjoy.
During one month in our multicultural display cases at Matthew Whaley each year, there is a display shown of African items, including several real galimotos. I always try to read this book around that month so I can show my students the real examples of galimotos in the display case. I took a few notes when illustrator for the book Catherine Stock came to our school for a visit in 2005. I remember that she said that as a writer and illustrator of her own books, she sees writing as being like a movie director, where you get to decide on the script, the costuming, the setting to shoot at, and the scenes you want to capture for the story. Stock expressed how much she enjoyed being an illustrator because as such, she is helping to create the visual movie in the reader’s head. I referred back to that idea several times throughout that school year, and brought it back up when I shared Galimoto with my class earlier this spring.
Be sure to check out illustrator (and also an author) Catherine Stock’s blog! It’s interesting to here about her influences, inspirations, observations, and thought processes on art and her life in France! http://letramizal.blogspot.com/ Also, be sure to check out both Karen Lynn Williams and Catherine Stock’s webpage links under my “Featured Authors and Illustrators” section to the right. There’s a lot of interesting things to read up on as a teacher and book appreciator, as well as to share with students about their inspirations and collaborations.
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