Not only does Wild Willie's (Wild Willie and the King Kyle Detectives, 1993, etc.) soccer team ``really stink,'' but the big and evil Chuckie has unofficially changed its name from the Bruisers to the Losers and has falsely accused Willie of K-I-S-S-I-N-G his next-door neighbor, Lucy. As Willie notes in a letter to a friend, his life is ``full of problems,'' and at first it seems clear that he has only one option: to hang his head off the couch, methodically kick the wall with his feet, and watch TV upside-down for the rest of his life. But he soon decides that while he can't change Chuckie, he can put him to good use by bribing him to play for the Losers. This book has many realistic and funny moments: Dad looks up from his newspaper occasionally to say things like, ``Teamwork. That's the ticket''; Mom can see into Willie's head as if it were a window. And although the climax is predictable—the Losers decide to win without Chuckie's help—it isn't preachy. A book that succeeds on the strength of its preteen narrator's goofy, appealing, and believable voice. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 19, 1994
ISBN: 0-395-62335-9
Page Count: 98
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1994
This fluent British version of ``The Fisherman and His Wife'' features only two characters: a discontented old woman living in an uncommonly large vinegar bottle, and an obliging fairy who provides her with increasingly palatial housingbut sends her back where she came from when she demands to be Empress of the Universe. MacDonald (The Storyteller's Sourcebook, 1982, etc.) is in fine form, preceding the tale with a learned discussion of variants and other editions, and then rendering it in a rapid, comic style``But when the fairy came near/there sat the old woman . . . complaining./`Oh what a pity!/What a pity pity pity!' '' Fowlkes's illustrations, in reds, yellows, and purples, spill energetically from their wide frames, centering on the old woman's determinedand in the end, chagrinedcountenance, every bit of space crammed with pattern and color. Excellent for reading aloud or alone. (Picture book/folklore. 7-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-87483-415-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Folk/August House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1995
DeSpain (Eleven Turtle Tales, 1994, etc.) turns to the oldest known versions of this durable story for his retelling. Before killing the giant who ate his father, Jack meets and falls in love with Elinor, the monster's captive; Elinor dies trying to escape, but with the help of a magic harp returns to life and to Jack's arms at the end. Replete with tests, magic, and derring-do, DeSpain's tale is a long one; his language is sometimes elaborate, sometimes prosaic; his heroic characters are conventional and pale next to the vividly rendered giant, with his bestial table manners and poetic turns of phrase—``I'm off to bed. Another glorious day of disruption awaits the sun!'' Shlichta's paintings weaken the story further; Jack and Elinor are almost as ill-proportioned as the giant, and the climactic running battle gets but a single picture—and a small one at that. Gail Haley's Jack and the Bean Tree (1986) is still the best choice for readers in search of an alternative to the many tellings aimed at a younger audience. (Picture book/folklore. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-87483-414-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1995
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