A skillful fairy tale about a hero and the flower seller he loves, though it’s hampered by an outdated literary device.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A skillful fairy tale about a hero and the flower seller he loves, though it’s hampered by an outdated literary device.Pub Date: May 1, 2017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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
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
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
