Here’s hoping Hugo’s forthcoming tale will have more bounce.
Billy Goat bites off more than he should.
“Nat the Cat made a breakfast to share / with her friends Billy Goat and Hugo Hare. / She was going to make a breakfast treat, / with some lovely homemade bread to eat.” Nat has set the dough out to rise when Billy arrives early. Billy doesn’t want to wait for Hugo, so to distract him, Nat suggests Billy set the table. While Nat is out gathering flowers for the centerpiece, Billy sets the table…but he just can’t resist the jug of juice. Then he sees the bread and takes a bite before he realizes it isn’t cooked. Hugo and Nat arrive, and Billy has to swallow—and then his tummy starts to bloat. Hugo and Billy try to hide the belly from Nat, but Billy confesses. After a breakfast of store-bought juice and what’s left of the dough (now cooked), Nat writes a song about Billy’s impatience, and the friends sing along. Alborough’s first of two companion books to Nat the Cat’s Sunny Smile (2013) is less charming than its predecessor. The song that appears as sheet music in the story and is available online is a bit flat and didactic, much like the story itself, and Alborough’s cheery illustrations are chopped up by the talky text.
Here’s hoping Hugo’s forthcoming tale will have more bounce. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61067-190-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite razzle-dazzle illustrations, this familiar tale does not take flight.
To pounding rhyme, Princess Cinnamon Stitch escapes from the confines of deportment into weeds, fleas and tree-climbing and then she transforms her parents.
Cinnamon shucks off her fancy duds to explore the messy, muddy world, but she is brought back to the king and queen before she could play with a local boy. Her mother’s insistence on needlework gives her an idea, though, and she makes a colorful patchwork kite—and takes flight with it. The king and queen are astonished, but they immediately order kites for themselves. “They’re all happy now, and they’re less stuffy too. / With Cinnamon’s stitching, their world grew and grew. / With Cinnamon’s stitching, they took off and flew.” The rhyme is fairly dull, and the tale of a princess longing to escape the confines of grace and needlework to do what children do is not well served by the words. The pictures, done in a variety of media (pencil, felt-tip, collage, watercolor, etc.) and then scanned and arranged, are bright and rich in curlicues and stars, hearts and flowers, leaves and feathers. Often reminiscent of Eastern European folk art or batik patterns, the multiple images provide a lot to look at. Includes CD read by Imelda Staunton (not heard) and instructions for kite-making.
Despite razzle-dazzle illustrations, this familiar tale does not take flight. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-84686-803-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
Not the most flavorsome retelling, but worth a nibble.
It’s all a lark in this quick and simple version of the tale—at least until someone gets eaten.
Rodriguez retains the fugitive cookie’s traditional refrain but casts the rest of the narrative in simple, noncumulative prose: “The horse joined in the chase. The gingerbread man laughed and laughed, until he came to a river.” In the cartoon illustrations, everyone involved in the chase dashes along smiling—the gingerbread man even delivers Bronx cheers to his pursuers—until, at the end, the fox climbs out of the river and flips the horrified homunculus into his maw. The repetition in more extended renditions of the story make for stronger, more rhythmic read-alouds, but newly independent readers should trot through this one with nary a stumble…and find for reward a mouthwatering recipe at the end. As in her wordless confections (The Chicken Thief, 2010, etc.), Rodriguez’ illustrations yield amusing, attention-rewarding details: the sunbathing cow with shades and sunscreen, the oven-mitted old woman, the horse reading quietly at the bottom of the hill—and the heap that results when cow, pig and humans fall on top of it.
Not the most flavorsome retelling, but worth a nibble. (Picture book folk tale. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4086-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
© 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.
