Author(s): Frané Lessac

Picture Books

Even the art has rhythm in this splendid book of calypso songs. Burgie, who wrote music and lyrics for such seemingly ageless songs as “Day-O” (“Daylight come and me wan’ go home”) and “Jamaica Farewell” (“Down the way, where the nights are gay . . . “), shares four of his liveliest works as well as his piano and guitar arrangements for nine Caribbean folksongs. Lessac (Caribbean Canvas; My Little Island) captures the infectious beat in dynamic gouache paintings that demonstrate both a dramatic color sense and a fondness for pattern–everything in her primitive-style pictures appears to be dancing.

In the varied layout, each title is set against eyecatching horizontal borders that echo the song’s themes. Sultry tropical light bathes this book; it’s both exotic and refreshing. A helpful afterword by Rosa Guy outlines a history of calypso music.