A skillful fairy tale about a hero and the flower seller he loves, though it’s hampered by an outdated literary device.
A clumsy young inventor must complete a task for a grumpy monster to win a girl’s heart in this illustrated, rhyming debut book.
In the Forest of Ho, near the Village of Hay, there’s a creature called the Grumpface, known for capturing innocent travelers and only freeing them if they can fulfill one of his three tasks. Once a cranky old man, the Grumpface was cursed by a wizard to spread his grouchiness because he could never smile. In the Village of Hay, Dafty Dan, an inventor whose contraptions never quite work, loves a flower seller named Bella. Too afraid to talk to her, he hatches a plan to find her a rose—the one flower she can’t track down for her store. This takes him to the Forest of Ho, where he is caught by the Grumpface, who is determined to show Dan that life is miserable. With Dan’s unrequited love in his heart, he insists he will accomplish one of the tasks. But his inventions ultimately fail to help him, including his “launcher.” The bird he was supposed to snare swallows his lamp. His sticky shoes adhere to a log bridge, but his loud singing causes a mishap. His light rod actually works—until he drops it and loses the object of his quest in a dark cave. Luckily for Dan, his antics make the Grumpface laugh, breaking the curse and setting the old man—and all the villagers he’s trapped—free. The old man even shows Dan where to find a rose, allowing him to gain the affections of his crush. All of Dan’s interactions with the Grumpface are delightful, and Fegan’s competent and clever rhymes scan well (“Each day he would see her standing for hours, / Across from his shop, selling her flowers”). But the tale is marred by the tired trope of a hero too afraid to talk to the girl he likes, treating her as an object to be won rather than someone who could be a friend. Frongia’s (Possessions of the Human Kind, 2017, etc.) cheerful illustrations of the green monster and the Caucasian characters are comical, especially Dan’s and the Grumpface’s expressive faces, and well-suited to the misadventure.
A skillful fairy tale about a hero and the flower seller he loves, though it’s hampered by an outdated literary device.Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9953592-0-8
Page Count: 34
Publisher: TaleBlade
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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BOOK REVIEW
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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