Come winter, the bear hibernates and many other creatures grow warm coats. The reasons for this are explained in a Haida Indian tale. Bear, created with the thickest fur, is uncomfortable under Sun's hot rays. He grabs the orb from the sky and hides it in a cave. A boy goes into Bear's cave, crops Bear's fur and leaves, sharing the shorn hair with the rest of the animal kingdom. Cold for the first time, Bear releases Sun. This well-developed retelling has a deft mix of the plausible and magical, which Oliviero (The Fish Skin, 1993, etc.) arranges around a generous core: No one has evil intent; all are simply seeking creature comfort. Each of new artist Hitchcock's highly stylized spreads are bracketed by totemic images; the pictures themselves are flat and sharply outlined, saturated with vibrant blues, greens, and yellows. These are dreamful, even transcendental, with an ancient, other-worldly feela vast, remote, sparsely populated landscape in which shape-shifting is possible. The whole work is unusually striking and compelling. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-7868-0031-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
Aylesworth and McClintock (The Gingerbread Man, 1998) tackle the story of the old woman whose pig won’t go over the stile, hindering her from going home. Here, the fat piggy is purchased at the market, but when it arrives home, it won’t go through the gate. The old woman, in this case Aunt Pitty Patty, enlists her young niece Nelly to go fetch help. Nelly implores a dog to bite the pig, a stick to hit the dog, a fire to burn the stick, water to douse the fire, etc. All the while, the piggy is parked by the gate reciting, “No, no, no, I will not go.” Aylesworth’s addition of the rhyming refrain preserves some of the cadence of the traditional tale, while softening the verbs (“hit” instead of “beat,” the rope “ties” instead of “hangs,” the butcher is to “scare” instead of “kill”) usually associated with it. McClintock emphasizes expression over action, and employs the same dainty brown line and soft watercolor wash of this team’s previous book. (Picture book/folklore. 3-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-89987-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Ford uses each letter of the alphabet to illustrate an aspect of Kwanzaa, in a mix of English and non-English words; phonetic pronunciations are provided for non-English words, but not the language or country of origin. To the familiar—``A is for Africa'' and ``C is for candle''—Ford adds ``L is for lapa'' (a broad piece of cloth that African women wear) and ``M is for Mkeka'' (a special mat for the holiday table). Wilson-Max works with flat, simple shapes boldly outlined in black; these are cheerful and informative, with festive scenes of participants gathering to celebrate the principles of Kwanzaa. Other books cover the holiday more thoroughly, but this is certainly a charming and accessible beginning. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-590-92200-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1997
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