Van Steenwyk and Farnsworth (When Abraham Lincoln Talked to the Trees, not reviewed, etc.) take young readers back to that thrilling day of yesteryear—December 17, 1903, to be exact—when Orville Wright first flew the powered aircraft he and his brother Wilbur had so methodically invented. Between voiceovers that explain the event’s significance, the brothers Wright wake up in their rough Kitty Hawk shack, share breakfast and some stiff banter—“Wilbur: Come on now, Orville, admit it. It was fun when we straightened out the air pressure tables and got ’em right. Orville: Yep. Yep, that was fun”—then struggle out into the windy beach to do the deed. Farnsworth’s sepia-toned, impressionistic scenes vividly evoke the setting’s desolation, as well as capture a sense of the era. Though likely to be less fun to perform than Paul Fleischman’s choral scripts, this brief re-creation is easily doable in a classroom, and makes an inventive way to bring a pivotal historical event to life and handy for next year’s centennial. (postscript) (Picture book. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-8028-5234-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2003
So joyous is most of this tale from Wallace that it all but subverts the act of magic serving as the climax. Scarlette Beane is a born gardener, not just with a green thumb, but with green fingers as well. She lives in a small home with her parents, “so they worked outside as much as they could.” They are also avid gardeners, too; the days are clear and they are a supremely merry lot. Scarlette is given a garden when she turns five, and proceeds to grow colossal vegetables that have to be individually harvested with machines. Everyone in the village comes to help, and then to eat the soup made from the bounty. They must eat outside because the house is too small, but no one minds such a glorious picnic, even when it rains. That night, Scarlette creeps out of bed to a high meadow and plants a bunch of seeds in a hole. The next day, a castle of vegetables rises from the meadow: “Mrs. Beane kissed her daughter’s face. ‘I knew you’d do something wonderful,’ she whispered.” Since their small house has suited them so beautifully, this ending has the feel of gilding the lily. Thickly painted, expressively modeled artwork adds to the atmosphere of green and growing miracles. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8037-2475-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1999
Three Princes (1994). (Picture book/folkore. 5-9)
Broadly echoing the story of Adam and Eve, Kimmel retells the Aztec legend of Ixcocauqui, son of the sun god, and
Coyolxauhqui, daughter of the goddess of the moon. Temptation has prompted Ixcocauqui to disobey his father's command never to leave the precincts of the jade palace. During his foray beyond the walls, he meets Coyolxauhqui and they fall helplessly in love. Ixcocauqui admits his trespass to his father, who, while mightily displeased, consents to their wedding—as long as they vow never to visit the Earth below, on pain of death. Not surprisingly, the Earth proves too seductive and the two of them are caught and turned into mortals, and Coyolxauhqui dies young. They do remain inseparable, the Aztec story goes, and can be seen today as twin mountains in the Valley of Mexico. No punches pulled here: the workings of fate lay heavily on the page, and the consequences attending defiance are neither small nor laughing matters, visiting Ixcocauqui and Coyolxauhqui with speedy doom. Adding to the air of otherworldliness, Fisher's shimmering artwork gives the gods an elusive, incorporeal quality. Distinguished storytelling by the team that produced The
Three Princes (1994). (Picture book/folkore. 5-9)Pub Date: March 15, 2000
ISBN: 0-8234-1504-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2000
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