The chubby piglets are very small, the wolf big, bony, and very bad, in this sly retelling of the familiar tale. Moser (Those Building Men, 2000, etc.) relates it in formal language, toning down the traditional story line's violence but adding plenty of biting (so to speak) humor with expressively drawn figures in deceptively sunny rural landscapes. The first two piggies exude misplaced confidence, and though they meet their ends offstage, the sight of the bloated wolf reclining amidst the wreckage between a bucket of clean bones and an empty jar of Bubba's BBQ Sauce (Moser decorates the label with a self-portrait) will leave no doubt as to their fate. The third pig does better, building his house with "No Wolf Brick" and following through with the traditional trip to the turnip field (boiling them in a "Lupus Ware" pot), the apple orchard, and the fair. He is last seen enjoying a tasty stew, made from "My Mama's Wolf Stew with Garlic," wearing wolfie slippers, and sporting a positively diabolical expression of satisfaction. Never has that big bad wolf been better served. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-316-58544-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2001
Dignified figures and nearly flat depth of field give the illustrations a flavor of folk art in this story of a city artist who loves to paint chickens, and longs to live on a farm. Though pictures of people, poodles, and penguins afford him a modest living, his chicken paintings make his dream come true, when a gallery owner swoons over them and offers pots of money. He moves to the country, festoons his farm with chickens of every variety, and becomes famous. Dunrea alternates spacious, simply colored full-page gouaches with smaller, delicately brushed portraits of poultry both common and rare. By unhappy coincidence, this is similar in several respects to Porte's new Chickens! Chickens! (see review below), but the general tone is calmer, the humor not as broad, and the art has a more sophisticated look. (Picture book. 6- 8)
Pub Date: March 27, 1995
ISBN: 0-374-35729-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
A sly jackal gets his comeuppance in this bland tale from southwest Africa. Terrified by Jackal's empty threats, a mother dove throws her babies out of the nest to be gobbled up. Crane exacts revenge; offering to teach Jackal to fly, she sticks a few feathers to him, carries him up into the sky, and drops him. The baby doves pop out unharmed, and Jackal slinks off to the river to wash off. Gottlieb's rounded, expressive animal figures are rendered with appealingly simple, flowing brushwork, but young readers will be shocked to see a mother throwing her children away and are unlikely to find Jackal's punishment—which amounts to minor discomfiture- -particularly amusing. Insensitive at best; Aardema (Misoso, 1994, etc.) generally chooses better. Stick with Gerald McDermott's Coyote or Tololwa Mollel's Flying Tortoise (both 1994). (glossary) (Picture book/folklore. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-679-85813-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1995
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