Sutcliff's prodigious historical tapestry spell-bound with empathy for Lovel, the hunchback whose healing hands secure him a place in the world, and sympathy for crippled stonemason Nick Redpoll, whose healing is Lovel's fulfillment, his giving of himself, not just his skill, to another. Counterpoised is Rahere, early the King's Jongleur, approached furtively, compulsively, until there he "stood in the window embrasure, looking out into the stormy dark where there could not possibly be anything to see. . . and whistling like a starling under the eaves." Later he returns, to the hospice not the Guest Lodging, as a monk not a minstrel, and yet his vision of Saint Bartholomew had shown Rahere how to get the land he needed for a hospital from the devout, uncharitable King. Lovel has longed for his whistle, and now the summons comes, but Brother Anselm, his first champion, lies dying. . . "Think, Lovel," says Rahere, "are you prepared to trade your whole life for an old man's few days?" Fiction threes the choice, perhaps, but moral rigor dictates the decision. Subsequently Lovel will leave Winchester New Minster and join Rahere at Smithfield outside London where St. Bartholomew's Hospital and priory are abuilding — and while the one took shape in the mind of a harried odd-job boy, tire other grows before knowing eyes, and he lays out and plants Iris own physic garden. But remembering draws him to Nick Redpoll, and recognizing Nick's yearning to shape and set stones again decides him on the treatment that may not cure — that is bearable to Nick because "Brother Lovel, with a game leg of his own, and that humpy shoulder and all. . . knows." "A good miracle," Rahere pronounces it, half smiling. Brimful — and how good to have a Sutcliff with wide, young appeal.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1970
ISBN: 0099750805
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Walck
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1970
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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