There is a tribe of kids by Lane Smith

ISBN: 9781509814008

American children’s author/illustrator Lane Smith produced this brilliantly fun, yet cleverly crafted picture book, a witty and humorous read, a meditative work about longing, the joy of interaction, family and belonging.

The story starts right at the cover, and alert readers will recognize the wordplay of a “tribe of kids” – a collective name for a group of goats (called a tribe, and the little ones called kids!), leading up to the “tribe of kids” the boy finds at the end of the book.

The story follows a boy as he explores different groups of animals, using props to try to blend in and be accepted, playfully joining the animals. Love floods out of the kid as he hugs everyone he meets, but he remains lonely because none of the groups work out for him. How he dreams and hopes and wishes for a tribe to belong to, literally depicted by the fireflies lighting up all round his body to “create a kind of faux constellation of the boy that connects with a real star constellation of a mom and a dad”. How he longs for a tribe of his own, and how his dream comes true!

How the boy ended up between the “tribe of kids” to start off with, is the key mystery in the book, leaving the reader to decide whether the boy left his tribe to go explore, or whether he is a new member of a group of others just like him.

This book requires readers to be alert, otherwise they might miss out on the many ideas displayed in the illustrations, some of which are somewhat moving.

The transition from one animal type to the next is brilliantly woven into the story, and all the spreads connect with one another. Everything in the illustrations are connected, even the horns on the boy’s head (where did he get them?) and the leafy garments he’s wearing – all explained in the illustrations. The illustrations actually tell the story.

Even though Lane denies it, and says he just wanted to make a book with lots of animals, There Is A TRIBE of Kids might have its roots in a personal encounter. He tells the story about his becoming lost after exploring for several hours one day when he was 8 years old, and couldn’t find his way back home. He says he stumbled onto a tribe of goats, who shared their food with him, led him to water, and allowed him to huddle in their warm fur to rest for the night. And the next day, they led him home.

Be that as it may, There Is A TRIBE of Kids is a moving story that belongs on every child’s bookshelf.

Lane’s word-use and gorgeous illustrations can classify this book as a “living book”, teaching collective nouns (group names) in story form, yet conveying a deeper meaning. Some animal groups have more than one collective noun, and Lane cleverly selected them to fit his story, using those that have the “best pictorial opportunities”, those that “practically draws itself”. A “smack” of jellyfish, a “parade” of elephants, and a “crash” of rhino are so much more descriptive than the generally used “swarm” and “herd”, and the group names are brilliantly woven into the story.

Lane used beautiful collages of oil paints, acrylic varnishes, watercolours, coloured pencils, pen, ink and gesso, which inspired brilliant illustrations in this thought-provoking story – How the boy starts off between a “tribe of kids”, and end up between his own kind’s “tribe of kids”. Brilliant told, Unbelievably enjoyable!