Distinctly odd, but despite its flaws, there’s a touch of magic here.
Santa Claus, trolls, reindeer, a magic fish, and other characters have Scandinavian adventures in this illustrated children’s book.
A Laplander troll named Gorgi takes Santa’s reindeer to their winter pasturage via the Trans-Siberian Railway. Although some trolls are gigantic, Gorgi is only turnip-sized; nevertheless, he bravely attacks five angry Russian bears trying to stop the train, even biting one bear’s toe off. The reindeer arrive at Lake Baikal, where Gorgi goes fishing. He hooks a beautiful, magic fish, which heals the bear and later turns into an oven that provides a wonderful holiday dinner that even includes Christmas cookies. The smell attracts Santa, who’s traveling nearby; he stuffs himself and then falls asleep. Upon waking, he notices that his bag of toys is missing. Gorgi discovers that the sack has been taken to an impenetrable cave belonging to Gunlord, a huge, gawky giantess who’s “really a squealy little girl.” To lure Gunlord out, Gorgi’s mother dresses up as a traveling beautician named Miss Helena Rubinstern and offers her a free makeover. Not only does Gunlord become outwardly pretty, she also offers to help Santa and sings Christmas carols. Finally, Gunlord, Gorgi, and Santa help to rescue a tiny reindeer stuck in an ice crevasse; Gunlord sings him a soothing lullaby. Holley (Tangled Tales 2, 2017, etc.) plunges readers into a Christmas fever dream, mixing up figures from legend with modern creations, such as Clement Clarke Moore’s reindeer. The story transitions abruptly from one emotional register to another—fear, celebration, disgust, humor—and leaves off at a seemingly random moment. How the injured bear suddenly acquires a name (“Griselda”) and shows up at Lake Baikal and why Gorgi becomes sympathetic to her remain unexplained. Some allusions will probably be lost on younger readers, such as “the bears in Stravinsky’s FIREBIRD” or the play on cosmetics mogul Helena Rubinstein’s name. Although the beautician scheme is amusing, it’s a shame that Holley makes such a direct link between beauty and good character. These matters aside, the story has wit, energy, child-friendly silliness, and vivid images in Holley’s color-washed, lively illustrations.
Distinctly odd, but despite its flaws, there’s a touch of magic here.Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5403-5867-7
Page Count: 21
Publisher: White Barn Press
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
© 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
