Working with a potent mix of history and speculation, Clayton takes on the mystery and intrigue that continues to surround the disappearance of Prince Edward and Prince Richard from the Tower of London in 1483. After the death of their father, King Edward IV, the two princes were taken to the Tower of London by their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, supposedly for their own safety until Prince Edward’s coronation. According to this epistolary picture book, Jane, the guard’s daughter, enters into a lively correspondence with the young princes, who have seen her from their tower window. When she learns that they are in danger, she leads them to a rowboat docked nearby and they are able to escape. The hurriedly written exchanges and the shadowy settings of the illustrations offer suspense; an afterword explains that the princes’ actual fate is unknown. The landmarks of 15th-century London, maps, a timeline, and a family tree that illustrates the progression of the royal line help bring the story to life; the only weakness is in Clayton’s renderings of human figures, which are poorly drawn and inconsistent. The story is so delightful, and the premise so ripe that most readers will be willing to overlook the flaws of the art. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-517-70984-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999
A book of the basic teachings of Buddha, presented through a collection of six classic, simple tales. When a monkey takes refuge from a monsoon in a cave, he happens upon a group of bickering animals—a monkey, lion, turtle, jackal, and dove. Before the fighting becomes too fierce, a small statue of Buddha begins to glow in the darkest corner. To pass the time—and to stop the fighting—wise Buddha spins enlightening stories of tolerance, endurance, sagacity, truthfulness, kindness, and clarity. Buddha recounts his past lives in many forms—from monkey to pigeon to willow tree—to his captive listeners. Such straightforward yet profound tales combine with the art and design for an example of bookmaking that is aesthetically pleasing in every way. Color-washed linoprints cleverly distinguish the stories from the black-and-white narrative frame, while an informative afterword offers brief background detail about Buddha and these six “birth stories” known as Jatakas. (Picture book/folklore. 4-7)
Pub Date: April 8, 1999
ISBN: 0-374-33548-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
A thrilling story, at once preposterous and divinely ingenious. The rude and awful outlaw Ubo Skald has laid siege to the kingdom of Beda; all the villagers and their stock have taken refuge behind Beda’s thick walls. Although the invaders have so far been kept at bay, Birgitta the Brave, the princess-ruler, is certain the seige will eventually succeed because they don’t have enough food. Counsel from the town elders is futile, for they are a witless lot; Birgitta devises a plan of her own. Among its highlights: dressing five mischievous village children as goats, a dangerous foray by the disguised princess to the outlaw camp, and a goodly dose of trickery that preys upon the robbers’ superstitions. This outrageous story is based on actual events—Swedes attacking a German town, children dressing as goats to confuse the invaders—tweaked only slightly by Lewis (Boshblobberbosh, 1998, etc.), who knows (and then retells) a good story when he hears it. Natchev’s paintings have the delicate and sumptuous qualities of religious icons, resembling the tapestries on which other grand stories have been told, but far funnier. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8037-1870-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
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