Inhabiting this tender love story is a gentle giantess who lives in isolation at the edge of the woods so that she won't scare people with her towering height. When a friendly woodsman builds a house nearby, his affection for his reclusive neighbor grows, even after he learns of her true size. He doesn't tell her what he knows, but invites her to the town carnival, letting her know that she'll ``see everything there from elves and fairies to witches and giants.'' The giantess is overjoyed to be mingling with people, and, at the carnival, she is surprised by admirers of her ``costume,'' all of whom point out the benefits of being very tall, and all of whom accept her when she confesses her height. The giantess gains self-esteem, gets her man, and lives happily ever after. This sweet story, translated from the German, will capture the hearts of young romantics. Seelig's timeless art does not play down the heroine's size—she is large among the other carnival attendees, but she is also lovely; the illustrations are perfect in their soft, misty beauty. (Picture book/folklore. 4-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-916291-76-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Horowitz's first book warmly depicts one family's unusual bedtime ritual: Leila looks forward to her favorite time of day- -after bath and book and before tucking in, when she and Daddy watch the wonderful bats come out for the night, whizzing through fascinating acrobatics as they capture mosquitoes and other insects. Avishai's realistic, well-observed illustrations nicely reflect the story's wholesome good humor. A judiciously understated plea for this useful, misunderstood creature. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 30, 1991
ISBN: 0-02-744541-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Four Winds/MacMillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1991
Closing with an intimate snuggle after Papa instantly dozes off, this tender iteration of a familiar nighttime ritual will...
Despite repeated vows to stop interrupting, a little red chicken can’t resist jumping in to cut her Papa’s bedtime tales short with plot giveaways—“DON’T GO IN! SHE’S A WITCH!”—and truncated, happy endings.
Endowing his poultry with flamboyantly oversized combs and wattles, Stein switches between stylish but cozy bedroom scenes and illustrations from each attempted story (into which little red chicken forcibly inserts herself) done in a scribbly, line-and-color style reminiscent of Paul Galdone’s picture-book fairy tales. Having run out of stories, exasperated Papa suggests to little red chicken that she make one up for him, which she does in laborious block print on lined paper, complete with crayoned stick-figure illustrations.
Closing with an intimate snuggle after Papa instantly dozes off, this tender iteration of a familiar nighttime ritual will be equally welcomed by fond parents and those children for whom listening to stories is anything but a passive activity. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4168-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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