A celebration of the Amish spirit of community summoned for a one-day barn raising. Lightning-struck, the Yoder family’s barn burns to the ground, but before the week is out neighbors gather and, under the direction of grave, gray- bearded Samuel Stulzfoot, put up a new one. Too old to join the children, too young to help the men, eight-year-old Matthew is disheartened at being left out, until Stulzfoot enlists him to carry instructions to the builders. Yolen (with Bruce Coville, Armageddon, p. 975) frames Matthew’s narrative in rhythmic, literary cadences—“fingers of flame grabbed at the barn. The sky filled with blue ropes of smoke; a boy could climb them up to Heaven, if he were so willing”—that give the event a ritualistic air. Fuchs applies paint so thinly that the texture of the canvas becomes part of each scene, while the dominant colors are stately, opaque red-browns. The dimly seen background shapes and slightly unfocused foreground figures are seen in a russet light that looks smoky in firelit scenes and gives later ones a summery haze. The details of barn construction are passed over, but the central place a barn occupies on an Amish farm is clearly established. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-316-96887-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1998
Much ado about very little in this incoherently sketchy easy reader. Finding in succession a copy of The Fairy Handbook, a magic wand, and a packet of fairy dust on her porch, impulsive young Posh tries to do the dishes and find a neighbor’s missing pooch by magic. Not being one to read instructions, however, she fills the kitchen with suds, discovers a mermaid in the bathtub, and creates sundry other mishaps. Luckily, she lives with Pish, a more methodical “best friend,” but also, to judge from the resemblance in Bottner’s rapidly drawn illustrations, either her mother or her big sister, who reins her in and organizes the clean-up. Pish and Posh both sport pointy, doglike ears in the course of this episode—which, along with the fit-and-start pacing may leave young readers wondering what they’re missing. Not much. (Easy reader. 6-7)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-06-051416-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2003
Emily Louise is certain that the new girl moving in next door will be simply awful. Working herself into a frenzy (in long passages of text that take the conceit just about as far as it can go), she imagines a terror of a child named Shelley Boo who is a swing swiper, eats nothing but peanut butter, has “drillions and drillions” of baseball cards, and steals Emily’s best friend, Henry. Stone’s exuberant color drawings, filled with whimsical animals and reminiscent of folk art, are less effective here than in What Night Do Angels Wander? (1998). Children will still identify with Emily’s anxiety about a new neighbor and share her relief when she finally does meet the infamous “Shelley Boo,” who is really named Elizabeth. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-316-81677-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
© Copyright 2025 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.
