by Kathleen Karr ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 13, 2008
Wearied of whippings and scorn, a young Fool escapes his overlord and sets out in search of a more congenial employer in this robust 14th-century tale. Conrad has plenty of company on his quest—notably his beloved Christa, a serving girl who disguises herself as his apprentice, and Grock, a sweet-souled “natural” fool—and they face plenty of challenges on the road. Even in disguise Christa is the recipient of plenty of ardent looks (particularly from monks) and innuendo, but thanks to ready wits and strong allies the travelers triumph over all human-related hazards just as they manage to survive natural ones. Though unshriven (as, at this time, all entertainers were), Conrad is supported as much by his religious faith as he is by his ability to tease and rhyme his way out of the sticky situations his glib tongue also gets him into. Fortune at least seems to be smiling on him at the end, and his distinct narrative voice and sturdy optimism will put readers solidly on his side. (Historical fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: May 13, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-375-84816-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2008
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by Sallie Ketcham ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999
PLB 0-531-33140-7 Ketcham’s first book is based on an allegedly true story of a childhood incident in the life of Johann Sebastian Bach. It starts with a couple of pages regaling the Bach home and all the Johanns in the family, who made their fame through music. After his father’s death, Johann Sebastian goes to live with his brother, Johann Christoph, where he boasts that he is the best organist in the world. Johann Christoph contradicts him: “Old Adam Reincken is the best.” So Johann Sebastian sets out to hear the master himself. In fact, he is humbled to tears, but there is hope that he will be the world’s best organist one day. Johann Sebastian emerges as little more than a brat, Reincken as more of a suggestion than a character. Bush’s illustrations are most transporting when offering details of the landscape, but his protagonist is too impish to give the story much authority. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30140-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
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by David A. Adler ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999
Adler (also with Widener, Lou Gehrig, 1997, etc.) sets his fictional story during the week of July 14, 1932, in the Bronx, when the news items that figure in this tale happened. A boy gets a dime for his birthday, instead of the bicycle he longs for, because it is the Great Depression, and everyone who lives in his neighborhood is poor. While helping his friend Jacob sell newspapers, he discovers that his own father, who leaves the house with a briefcase each day, is selling apples on Webster Avenue along with the other unemployed folk. Jacob takes the narrator to Yankee Stadium with the papers, and people don’t want to hear about the Coney Island fire or the boy who stole so he could get something to eat in jail. They want to hear about Babe Ruth and his 25th homer. As days pass, the narrator keeps selling papers, until the astonishing day when Ruth himself buys a paper from the boy with a five-dollar bill and tells him to keep the change. The acrylic paintings bask in the glow of a storied time, where even row houses and the elevated train have a warm, solid presence. The stadium and Webster Avenue are monuments of memory rather than reality in a style that echoes Thomas Hart Benton’s strong color and exaggerated figures. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201378-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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