A tepid story about stories from a noted reteller of traditional tales. A bookish prince, upon being told of his betrothal, declares he will not marry the princess chosen for him unless someone tells him a story whose ending he does not know. Meanwhile, a spunky princess across the ocean, upon being told of her betrothal, declares that she would “rather be washed overboard in a storm at sea” than marry a prince she has not chosen for herself. Predictably enough, the princess is duly washed overboard, makes her way to the bookish prince’s palace, tells him her story, and they fall in love, only to discover that each was the other’s intended all along. There are a few high points: when the disguised princess tells—in the third person—of her miraculous survival clinging to a conveniently washed-over trunk, a skeptical prince declares, “You really expect me—a grown-up, intelligent, well-educated human being—to believe that . . . You should do more research!” Otherwise, however, Martin’s (The Language of Birds, 2000) text seems to aim for a conspiratorial relationship with the reader but more often achieves only a certain self-referential smugness. Root (The Peddler’s Gift, 1999) works to dramatize a story in which much of the action consists of characters sitting in a room and talking to each other. She stuffs each scene with books and cats and patterns and intriguing stylistic details, the action taking place in a center panel that appears to be laid on top of a larger framework. But while her warm pencil-and-watercolor illustrations do their best, they are ultimately unable to invest the characters with enough personality to lift the story. An inside joke between book and reader that just isn’t funny enough. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: July 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-22924-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2001
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
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