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FEATHERS, PAWS, FINS, AND CLAWS

Name: FEATHERS, PAWS, FINS, AND CLAWS
Author: Jennifer Schacker
ISBN: 978-0-8143-4069-1

FAIRY-TALE BEASTS

edited by Jennifer Schacker & Christine A. Jones ; illustrated by Lina Kusaite ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 2015

Provocative fare for students of the themes and tropes of literary and traditional folk literature.

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Ten “vintage tales” chosen to challenge assumptions that fairy stories offer cut-and-dried values and life lessons for, specifically, children.

Reaching for an audience that is, as the editors put it, “beyond childhood,” the collection is introduced with an eye-opening analysis of “Little Red Riding Hood” (Perrault’s actual wording, it seems, hints that Little Red and the wolf weren’t exactly strangers) as part of a broad claim that fairy tales are often transgressive. The ensuing mix of original and traditional stories, all either written or first translated into English in the Victorian era, includes tales both familiar and un-. There’s “East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon”; “Ballad of the Bird-Bride,” which is a selkie variant featuring a sea gull; a “Puss-in-Boots” antecedent (“Costantino Fortunato”) from 16th-century Italy; and a Punjabi tale about a rat who almost parlays a bit of found root into marriage to a princess. For younger readers, the highlight is likely to be Joseph Jacobs' rendition of “The Story of the Three Bears,” as the home invader is not Goldilocks but a foulmouthed old homeless woman. But the selections are held up more for analysis than enjoyment, even Madame d’Aulnoy’s “Babiole,” which makes for labored reading despite an eponymous princess who spends most of the tale as a monkey. Kusaite’s visual jumbles of patterns and textures are as mannered as the 19th-century prose.

Provocative fare for students of the themes and tropes of literary and traditional folk literature. (source notes) (Fairy tales. 14 & up)

Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-8143-4069-1

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Wayne State Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: June 9, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

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EARTHLINGS INSIDE AND OUT

by Valerie Wyatt ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999

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Wyatt (The Science Book for Girls, 1997, etc.) adopts an alien’s-eye-view of earthlings, comparing the human body with that of a friendly lifeform from outer space. A cartoon anatomical outline charts the alien Danoid’s first encounter with Pete. Danoid labels hands as primary manipulatives, feet as planet connectors, and knees, multidirectional movement facilitators. Earthling skin, hair, brains, bones, muscles, and organs are measured by these compare-and-contrast standards, delivering information along the way. Sifting through a flurry of text, readers will stumble upon headings marked “Science Fair Ideas,” consisting of simple, at-home experiments such as tracking one’s pulse with a dab of modeling clay or smelling foods that have strong odors. While the concept is attention-getting, and often humorous, the actual information is often overwhelmed by distracting asides, experiments, and reports filed to Danoid’s commander; this compendium may be more worthwhile for browsers than researchers. (diagrams, index) (Nonfiction. 8-11)