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ZILLA SASPARILLA AND THE MUD BABY

Name: ZILLA SASPARILLA AND THE MUD BABY
Author: Judith Gorog
ISBN: 1-56402-295-1

by Judith Gorog & illustrated by Amanda Harvey ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1996

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Zilla loses a shoe into the clutchy goop that lines the Little Muddy River. When she tries to pull it free, she finds in her hand a mud baby, waving that shoe. Granny Vi, Zilla's neighbor, tells her to wash the child in milk, then water, and what once was mud will become human. She does, he does, a family of two is born. But Zilla is plagued by worries: Does his muddy bathwater mean he is melting (Granny Vi counsels that all children leave muddy bathwater behind), and will the river try to reclaim its creation? This is a promising scenario, especially well realized in Harvey's delicate, joy-filled pictures, but Gorog (see review, above) misses many of its opportunities. The rural setting is never developed, so readers never sense the river's menace the way Zilla does. The character of Cinnamon, first as a baby and then as a grown boy, is frustratingly blank, which makes it hard to identify with the central theme: the cares and concerns of parenting. Zilla's fears are such wild-eyed concoctions that the final scene, in which Cinnamon emerges safely from the river, has little impact. (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: May 1, 1996

ISBN: 1-56402-295-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
WHEN NOBODY'S HOME
by Judith Gorog

- BOOK REVIEW
PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH
by Judith Gorog

- BOOK REVIEW
ON MEETING WITCHES AT WELLS
by Judith Gorog

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GOONEY BIRD GREENE

by Lois Lowry & illustrated by Middy Thomas ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2002

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Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class announcing: “I’m your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything.” Everything about her is unusual and mysterious—her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince’s palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are “absolutely true.” Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher’s lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of “how a story is made” titles. Gooney Bird’s stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children’s fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-618-23848-4

Page Count: 96

Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
TREE. TABLE. BOOK.
by Lois Lowry

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WINDEBY PUZZLE
by Lois Lowry ; illustrated by Jonathan Stroh

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WILLOUGHBYS RETURN
by Lois Lowry

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BERRY MAGIC

by Teri Sloat & Betty Huffman & illustrated by Teri Sloat ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2004

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Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)