A handsome, most welcome addition to the now–sadly neglected, too-little–published literature of folk and fairy tales.
Byrd retells the familiar tale of folly and trickery, adding some outsize bravery and a happy ending.
Off on an errand for his mother, Chicken Little gets bonked by an acorn. “The sky is falling! I must go and tell the king!” The misguided chick encounters an increasing stream of equally foolish, frightened animals, from Henny Penny to Roly and Poly Moley. The menagerie of 10 encounters Foxy Loxy, who, speaking in sly rhymes, diverts them. “Oh, please, please, let me come, too! I know the best way, I do! I do!…But first, my dear friends, we’ll stop for brunch, or maybe instead, a nice little lunch.” Foxy lures the group to his cottage, where his wife and seven hungry kits wait near a steaming, but not yet boiling, cauldron. When Foxy locks the hapless stew ingredients in the basement, it’s Chicken Little who figures out an escape and outfoxes the fox. Byrd’s charming ink-and-watercolor illustrations depict the animals in old-fashioned clothing with flounces, vests and cravats. Crosshatching and intricate lines define each leaf, butterfly, bee and flower against the lush, pastoral backdrop of woods and rolling hills. The parade of fleeing animals runs right past the king’s long shadow at sunset. Safely tucked under a quilt by his mother, Chicken Little’s too exhausted to utter a word about his errant bravery.
A handsome, most welcome addition to the now–sadly neglected, too-little–published literature of folk and fairy tales. (Picture book/folk tale. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-670-786169
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.
A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.
Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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