Plainly told, these nine Korean folktales include some well-known tales found in the relatively small number of other picture books and anthologies available in English. “The Herdsman and the Weaver” is known in many versions from several Asian countries, including China and Japan, and tells the story of two lovers in the heavens, separated the whole year round until a bridge of magpies forms over the Milky Way to allow them to meet on the seventh day of the seventh month. The title story is the tale of a blind man’s loving daughter, who sacrifices herself to the depths of the sea, the Dragon King’s watery realm, to earn 300 bags of rice to restore her father’s sight. His vision is only returned at a later time when his daughter is allowed to return to the earth. The tiger, a recurring character in Korean stories, appears in two tales, fooled by the ever-popular trickster, Rabbit. McClure’s watercolor illustrations were inspired by sketches done on a trip to Korea; realistic earth tones vie with the fantastical brighter colors of the heavens and the undersea kingdom. A solid, if additional, purchase. (introduction, bibliography) (Folklore. 6-9)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-84507-805-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2008
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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