A retelling of eight familiar tales (along with the title story, ``Hansel and Gretel,'' ``The Tinderbox,'' ``Rapunzel,'' ``Vipers and Pearls,'' ``Bluebeard,'' ``The Girl Who Stepped on a Loaf,'' and ``Something More . . .'') in language that stays close to the original tone and timbre, with the complexities of nuance and situation intact. Neither surprising interpretations nor overriding themes inform the collection or tie the stories together. Why these eight, why this mood—the personality or mission of the selector is all but absent. The illustrations have the illusory edges of dream landscapes, with attenuated, neurasthenic figures and some very strange animal creatures. It's an elegant, but very cold, package, without a ready audience; the text is too long for young children, and the storybook format may put off older ones. (Folklore. 6-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-670-86652-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1996
At ``Step 2'' in the useful ``Step into Reading'' series: an admirably clear, well-balanced presentation that centers on wolves' habits and pack structure. Milton also addresses their endangered status, as well as their place in fantasy, folklore, and the popular imagination. Attractive realistic watercolors on almost every page. Top-notch: concise, but remarkably extensive in its coverage. A real bargain. (Nonfiction/Easy reader. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-91052-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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