A great combination: a cryptically amusing, ancient Chinese tale retold with verve and respect for the original, accompanied by stunningly beautiful, transporting artwork. Poole tackles the folktale about the rooster and how he got the funny-looking red thing on his head, setting it in the Miao Kingdom of western China. It all comes about because there are too many suns in the sky (which Poole represents with ancient icons, e.g., yin-yang, the spiral, the maze-like symbol for long life, the raven, a star). When the rains fail, the suns start to parch the earth. Wise men gather to debate a course of action and a clever and skillful archer is called from distant lands. He remedies the problem by shooting the suns’ reflection in a pond, but the one sun that survives is so scared it hides in a cave. Six suns were five too many, but the last one is essential. After others fail to coax the sun from the cave, the lowly rooster gives it a go, and the sun, bewitched by the rooster’s singular song, appears. Once the sun hears the peoples’ cheers, it relaxes and takes its place in the heavens. This story, with many gratifying elements to explore, and exquisite illustrations—folk-art paintings on textured paper—to behold, will keep on giving with each reading. (Picture book/folklore. 3-9)
Pub Date: March 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1389-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cuddly illustrations accompany a weak, pointless story of one character’s transition from tough guy to tenderheart. Toestomper and his friends the Rowdy Ruffians, a rough-and-tough band of rodent and reptile characters, like to act “mean, rude, and disgusting.” When Toestomper stumbles upon a bush of caterpillars, he stomps the bush flat, leaving the caterpillars homeless. Toestomper’s change of heart is without logic or motivation; he uncharacteristically offers them water and a soft bed, and adopts them as new friends, to the disgust of his longtime pals. The mixed message of the finale implies that Toestomper and his new pals always cheat at cards in order to beat the Rowdy Ruffians. The mediocre thinking behind the story outweighs any charm found in the illustrations; the contrast between the cozy, pet-like animals and their bullying behavior is funny, but it’s an effect that is wasted here. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-91168-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In this sweetly sentimental story set in the frozen twilight of an Arctic spring, George (Morning, Noon, and Night, p. 699, etc.) tells of an Inuit girl who goes out to hunt. Bessie Nivyek sets out with her big brother, Vincent, to hunt for food; in a twist out of McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal, Bessie bumps into a young bear, and they frolic: climbing, sliding, somersaulting, and cuddling. Vincent spies the tracks of his little sister and follows, wary of the mother bear; the mother bear is just as wary of Vincent. Out of the water rears danger to both the child and cub—a huge male polar bear. The mother bear warns her cub; it runs away, as does Bessie. Brother and sister head back home, “to eat, go to school, and learn the wisdom of the Arctic like Eskimo children do.” The brief text is lyrical and the illustrations are striking, with an impressively varied palette of white, in blue, green, yellow, and gold. Children who note that Vincent goes home empty-handed will wonder why he didn’t hunt any of the polar bears that were within range. While children will enjoy this romantic view of Bessie and the bear, those seeking a more realistic representation of life in this harsh environment will be unsatisfied. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7868-0456-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
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