An oddity, this: four picture-stories, printed on heavy coated stock, that together make up a thick, 6(apple)" by 9(apple)", 200-page volume. But regardless of the format, none of the four stories would stand up to scrutiny. "The Golden Brothers" starts with a fisherman, his demanding, bossy wife, and a gift-bestowing fish (a direct steal from you-know-what); then switches to two golden lilies, golden foals, and golden boys bestowed by the fish (supposedly, to get the wife off his back); then takes up the adventures of the bolder of the two golden boys—who foils some robbers, marries "the most beautiful girl in the world," pursues a stag, runs afoul of a witch who turns him to stone, and is finally freed by his brother. . . who knew something was amiss when one of the golden lilies snapped. One stock fairy-tale motif succeeds another, to no emotional effect and little plot purpose. And, even more surprising considering the authorship, the writing is just awful: "Beyond the forest there was a village, and in it was the most beautiful girl in the world alive. As soon as he saw her, the boy loved her. 'Marry me,' said the boy. 'I will,' said the girl. So the girl and the boy were married, and lived happily." Both the next story, "The Girl of the Golden Gate," and the fourth, "The Princess and the Golden Mane," consist in large measure of long chase sequences in which the girls pursued throw down various objects to thwart their pursuers and make their escape. (The former also involves a mother who, for no given reason, "doesn't like" her daughter and sends her to be killed.) The remaining story, "The Three Golden Heads of the Well," follows the old good-sister-rewarded/bad-sister-penalized pattern—with somewhat unusual props. Except for that one really sinister mother, and an ogre or two, pretty much a non-experience—complete to the vacant full-color pictures.
Pub Date: Nov. 7, 1981
ISBN: 0001952633
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1981
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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