A beautifully told, wonderfully illustrated story of kindness and generosity.
An old woman who grants wishes travels through her lonely life in this poignant modern-day fairy tale about wishes, greed, and acceptance by debut author/illustrator Finning.
Hazelita is an old woman who has no home and few possessions. The one thing she has of worth is a magic broom her mother left her. If Hazelita uses it to sweep, it grants a wish for whomever owns the home she’s sweeping. She offers her gift in trade for a meal and a place to sleep as she travels, and many homeowners are more than willing to trade, though they rarely offer anything beyond the bare minimum. As the story begins, Hazelita’s travels have been going on for some time, to the point that the fame of the Broom Lady precedes her. At the first home in the tale, she’s offered only leftovers from the family’s meal, then left in solitude; she cries herself to sleep. In the morning, her broom grants the wish of the homeowner, who is suddenly rich; without further thought, the homeowner ushers Hazelita out the door. The next stop is much the same: a modicum of food and shelter in exchange for the transformation of a home into a large palace. At the third house, Hazelita is welcomed inside and treated as an honored guest. But despite the family’s generosity, Hazelita still cries herself to sleep. In the morning, despite the protests of the family, Hazelita sweeps—but nothing happens. As word spreads that the broom is broken, Hazelita is turned away, only to return to the generous family and, to her surprise, receive her own happy ending. Written in the style of an old fairy tale, this modern twist features contemporary homes and places from the author’s home state of Connecticut. The tale curiously lacks comeuppance for the wishing families who treated the old woman disrespectfully. Despite that, the heroes here are clearly in the family that offers love and acceptance and finds kindness more valuable than riches. Finning’s illustrations vary between magical images, as when the broom does its work surrounded by rainbow curlicues, and more detailed illustrations grounded in the scene, e.g., of Hazelita approaching a house or the family dancing around with the money they wished for. An illustration of Hazelita crying at night is particularly touching.
A beautifully told, wonderfully illustrated story of kindness and generosity.Pub Date: July 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4327-5441-9
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Outskirts Press Inc.
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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