Born of a miniscule grain of millet and a mother’s wish, tiny, dark-skinned and beautiful Thumbelina is kidnapped by an unpleasant iguana that sees her as a prospective daughter-in-law. Horrified, Thumbelina refuses. Still a baby, she knows only one word, so when other animals scramble for her hand, she says “fish,” and gets a ride from one who brings her downriver. As she grows and meets animals—primarily native to South America, though the setting is never fully defined—she learns to be wary, but when she revives a bird of paradise, he becomes a true friend. Eventually offered the chance to become a spirit of the flowers, Thumbelina departs on dragonfly wings, unsure of and excited by her future. True to the Andersen tale, though more open-ended, Picouly’s retelling captures the mystery and lovely oddness of the original, although the otherwise lyrical story is occasionally disjointed and pedantic. Striking illustrations show the lushness of the forest and river and inventively present the world through Thumbelina’s perspective. A note includes information on animals that appear in the story. (Fairy tale. 6-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-59270-069-1
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2007
The author-illustrator of a fine array of comical easy readers, picture books, and creatively retold nursery tales adopts a new genre. With irreverent spoofs of contemporary themes, offbeat humor, snappy dialogue, and delightful plot twists, these seven brief animal stories are vintage Marshall. Two feckless sheep put a threatening wolf to sleep with their inane chatter; a huge mouse averts a tragedy by literally hurling a cat-intruder out of her wedding reception; a frog preens himself on his handsome legs until he reads an embarrassing French recipe; a convocation of birds prevents a rude but vegetarian brontosaurus from eating the tree where an owl has its nest when the birds crowd the tree and spoil the dinosaur's appetite by suggesting how awful they would taste. The villains are always foiled here, but the outcomes are deliciously unpredictable. Occasional b&w drawings extend the humorous characterizations. Sure appeal; a natural for reading aloud. (Fiction/Young reader. 6-10)
Pub Date: June 17, 1991
ISBN: 0-8037-0834-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1991
A partially successful attempt to show the evolution of humankind and its inventions, from 3,500,000 B.C. to the present. A typical two-page spread gives a brief paragraph of text, a full-page illustration (brown ink and watercolor wash in a serviceable style), plus brief marginal notes and illustrations of ``what's new'' in the period. Unfortunately, there's no attempt here to distinguish between conjecture and fact, while dates presented as fact are sometimes at odds with those in reputable sources (e.g., Sattler's Hominids, 1988, which dates the earliest tools as much as 1.5 million years later, and the Encyclopedia Americana, which differs by at least 1000 years on the earliest use of bronze). The choice of inventions among the relatively few cited is sometimes curious: eyeglasses; printing press; croissants; piano. Still, while the idea has been imperfectly realized, this simple presentation of evolving inventions will intrigue younger science and history buffs. No sources for information or artifacts; no index. (Nonfiction. 6- 10)
Pub Date: June 5, 1991
ISBN: 0-8027-6918-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1991
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