TITLE: Little Island - Big Adventure
Author: Maria Roberts Squires
Age group: 12-14
Reviewed by: Shaunette A. Jones

MARIA ROBERTS Squires' Little Island - Big Adventures is fun reading that is highly recommended. Set in the Eastern Caribbean on a tiny Grenadine island, this teen adventure "celebrates friendship, family life and the pleasures and trials of living in a small-knit community". Covering 168 pages, the story is told from the viewpoint of a very imaginative and mischievous Sara-Ann, a 12- year-old who seeks to enjoy, with her best friend Ruben, the last school year on the island.

The book gives a glimpse into the lifestyle of the people. One noted point is the fact that most islanders wore no shoes. The day after the storm, Sara-Ann begs to go to school. She promises, ".... if I go to school, I wouldn't even take off my shoes inside the schoolhouse. " She continues to explain, "That was giving up a lot, at our school, in the year 1962, almost no one, except teachers, wore shoes unless they were sick or something. Even Roland and Alan-Michael got away with no shoes most of the time."

Shedding light

In addition, there was no electricity or reservoir. Sara-Ann mentions that "the few stars twinkling way up in the sky weren't doing a good job of shedding light and the island had no electricity. The kerosene lamps of the few people still up were dim." Of the absence of running water, she says, "the policy concerning water was mostly each to his own. Households, therefore, collected and stored water on cisterns on their premises".

The interesting culture of the Caribbean people is also evident. There is mention of All Saints Day. Says Sara-Ann: "The idea was for families to visit the graves of loved ones, light candles and pray for their souls' happy repose, and pay respects to the departed ones." On the eve of this day, "We helped clean the graves of cousins, grandaunts, great-grandparents and one granduncle.....With the setting of the sun, all and sundry would wend their way towards one or other of the island's two cemeteries."

Other aspects of the island's culture mentioned are the 'meeting up': "It was an absolute must at any wedding, this meeting up. Mother had told us it was an acting out of the bride's submission to her groom' and serenading bands that would travel around the island, stopping at each home to play Christmas carols.

The main source of income for most islanders comes from the sea. Little Sara-Ann says, "Cousin Fredrick, Godmother Cassandra's husband, was a sailor like most of the men, for what else was there to do? They worked on big vessels, staying away months at a time; or fished around the island, returning home every day. A few turned their hands to husbandry, raising cows, pigs, sheep, goats and chickens, but that was mostly women's territory."

Crazy spells

Superstitious beliefs are embedded in the lives of the locals. At the beginning of the book, Sara-Ann likens the howling winds of the storm to Miss Madie "shrieking during one of her crazy spells when the moon was full". Where pregnant women were concerned, Sara-Ann says "it was thought to be very unlucky for a pregnant person to be in the presence of death. On the island, no pregnant woman would ever attend a funeral or go look at a dead body."

Family life was very important. The author mentions the Roberts family spending time reading or listening to Dad tell stories or play his violin; making asham together; cleaning and walking to graves on All Saints Eve and Day; playing hide and seek; going to church, going out to sea or taking a trip to another tiny island.

Hearty laughter

The characters are colourful and will bring a smile to the mouth or draw hearty laughter from readers. There is Mrs Laprie, the unofficial weather woman, whose "Bad back knew every aspect of the weather and would hurt in a different way for each aspect", Miss Mertle, the witch with the big black cat; and Mrs Deablo, the island's interpreter of dreams.

The language is plain but descriptive. Says Sara-Ann of Aubrey, a boy in her class: "Aubrey was a source of grave and constant temptation to me; or at least his ears were. A short, stubby boy, his ears were large and jutted out at almost right angles from the side of his head. My fingers itched to reach out and tug them." When she remembers an awful experience with asham: "The fine stuff had clogged my windpipe; had been sucked up my nostrils when I started coughing and choking. I had thought I was suffocating" and impatiently waiting for All Saints Eve, she says, "the day dragged by slower than Bengy, our neighbour's three-finned pet tortoise."

Sara-Ann's friendship with Ruben, her best friend, is pure and honest. They spend a lot of time together and sense each other's moods and read each other's thoughts. Knowledge of her family's move brings pain to her heart because she has to leave her island and Ruben. But everything changes when she learns of Ruben's intended move to the mainland. She dreads the change leaving the beauty and freedom of the island for the unexpected life on the mainland. The book ends, however, with hope - the promise of a continued and deeper friendship with Ruben and new beginnings academically.

Part of Carlong Publishers Sand Pebbles Pleasure Series, Little Island - Big Adventures is highly descriptive and visual and filled with stimuli for the imagination. It is a must for children who love adventure, is reader-friendly and the look and feel is comfortable. The language stimulates and will help develop and extend the vocabulary. Good for a Sunday afternoon read, it can be completed in one sitting!

Maria Roberts Squires was born in Petite Martinique, one of Grenada's Grenadine islands. She was awarded a diploma in writing for children and teenagers from the Institute of Children's Literature, Connecticut, United States. She now resides in Barbados.