Twelve chestnuts in standard versions, lightly massaged by McCaughrean (Grandma Chickenlegs, 1999, etc.) and illustrated with plenty of small, finely detailed vignettes. The body count is relatively low: the Big Bad Wolf survives his encounter with Little Red Riding Hood, and sneezes out the six little kids; the first two Little Pigs escape when their houses are blown down; and the Third Billy Goat Gruff merely tosses the troll so high that he takes three days to come down. Similarly, young viewers will not actually see the Gingerbread Boy being eaten, or the wolf marinating in the Third Little Pig’s pot. Happily, the occasional vivid image—the string of villagers trailing willy-nilly behind the Golden Goose are “all glued as close together as the letters in a word”—or turn of phrase gives the tales a few sparks of spontaneity, the Little Red Hen eats the loaf all by herself in this version, and the witch who loans the magic porridge pot turns out to be a merry sort—“Just my little joke,” she croaks, giggling at the sight of dried porridge on the local steeple. Judy Sierra’s Nursery Tales From Around the World (1996) draws from a wider range of traditions, and many collections, led by Anne Rockwell’s Three Bears and 15 Other Stories (1975), are larger gatherings, but this makes a suitable, if conventional, choice for adults searching for a fresh gathering of the perennials to share with younger children. (Folk tales. 8-10)
Pub Date: July 11, 2000
ISBN: 0-19-278115-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...
The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.
Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-750-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
In these 12 retellings, the Immortals come across as unusually benign. Dionysius at first suggests to King Midas that he give his excess wealth to the poor, for instance; the troubles that Pandora releases are originally imprisoned in the box by Prometheus’s brother Epimetheus out of compassion for humankind; and it’s Persephone herself who begs for a compromise that will allow her to stay with her beloved Hades for six months out of every year. Kimmel relates each tale in easy, natural-sounding language. And even though his Andromeda looks more Celtic than Ethiopian (as the oldest versions of the story have it), Montserrat’s figures combine appropriate monumentality with an appealing expressiveness. The stories are all familiar and available in more comprehensive collections, but the colorful illustrations and spacious page design make this a good choice for shared reading. (foreword) (Nonfiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4169-1534-8
Page Count: 112
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2007
© 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
