Out of the third century a.d. comes Finn McCoul (a.k.a. Finn MacCumhaill to Celtic folklore purists), the gentle giant of Belfast, and his crafty wife, Oonagh. The only blot on Finn's landscape is Cucullin, a giant bully who wishes to give Finn a good pulping. Oonagh devises a scheme that both saves Finn from the drubbing and takes all the stuffing out of Cucullin. Gleeson (Koi and the Kola Nuts, 1992, etc.) brings polished, sprightly writing and an amusing dash of contemporary corn to this adaptation of the ancient Irish tale. De Seve's illustrations provide a felicitous match; he is technically sharp, a painter who brings enticing tension by playing the heroic off the mock-heroic, the romantic off the mock-romantic. His rendering of Cucullin is wonderful, like something Da Vinci might have envisioned in a bad dream. This collaboration is uproarious, a brain-fevered interpretation that's also smart as a whip. (Picture book/folklore. 8+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-689-80201-3
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1995
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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BOOK REVIEW
Like the quiet lap of waves on the sand, the alternating introspections of two Bahamian island children in 1492. Morning Girl and her brother Star Boy are very different: she loves the hush of pre-dawn while he revels in night skies, noise, wind. In many ways they are antagonists, each too young and subjective to understand the other's perspective—in contrast to their mother's appreciation for her brother. In the course of these taut chapters concerning such pivotal events as their mother's losing a child, the arrival of a hurricane, or Star Boy's earning the right to his adult name, they grow closer. In the last, Morning Girl greets— with cordial innocence—a boat full of visitors, unaware that her beautifully balanced and textured life is about to be catalogued as ``very poor in everything,'' her island conquered by Europeans. This paradise is so intensely and believably imagined that the epilogue, quoted from Columbus's diary, sickens with its ominous significance. Subtly, Dorris draws parallels between the timeless chafings of sibs set on changing each other's temperaments and the intrusions of states questing new territory. Saddening, compelling—a novel to be cherished for its compassion and humanity. (Fiction. 8+)
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 1992
ISBN: 1-56282-284-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1992
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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Nicholas is a bright boy who likes to make trouble at school, creatively.
When he decides to torment his fifth-grade English teacher, Mrs. Granger (who is just as smart as he is), by getting everyone in the class to replace the word "pen'' with "frindle,'' he unleashes a series of events that rapidly spins out of control. If there's any justice in the world, Clements (Temple Cat, 1995, etc.) may have something of a classic on his hands. By turns amusing and adroit, this first novel is also utterly satisfying. The chess-like sparring between the gifted Nicholas and his crafty teacher is enthralling, while Mrs. Granger is that rarest of the breed: a teacher the children fear and complain about for the school year, and love and respect forever after.
With comically realistic black-and-white illustrations by Selznick (The Robot King, 1995, etc.), this is a captivating tale—one to press upon children, and one they'll be passing among themselves. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-689-80669-8
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1996
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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