Once more, as in The Light Beyond the Forest (1980) whose events follow these, Sutcliff immerses herself and her readers in the sensibility of the medieval legend. It's a world where unproved heroes ride about inquiring "Good fellow, is there any place near here where adventure is to be had for the asking?" and where a knight of the Round Table is likely in his wanderings to come upon four others gathered under an oak tree. Women, except for Queen Guinevere who stands apart, are cast as damsels in distress or subtle and treacherous enchantresses; honor is worth more than life; and, more so than in The Light Beyond the Forest with its transforming religious superstructure, the primitive Celtic heritage asserts itself through the thin cloak of chivalry. Sutcliff tells us that her version has "followed Malory in the main" but borrowed also from other (specified) earlier sources. The narrative, which takes us from "The Coming of Arthur" (with some mythological-historical background before that) to "The Coming of Percival" shortly before the graft quest featured in The Light Beyond the Forest, includes a very early, alternative version of Tristan and Iseult, a more familiar one of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and other Arthurian knightings and romances from Malory. As before, Sutcliff tells them straight, with apparently unswerving and heartfelt conviction.
Pub Date: Sept. 24, 1982
ISBN: 0140371494
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1982
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
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
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