A funny fairy tale about a king who never takes a bath. The king's stench doesn't bother him, as it does everyone else in Reeksland, but the flies that follow him do. Fed up, he orders his wizard to rid his kingdom of flies. The wizard agrees, on the condition that if the king ever changes his mind, he will have to start bathing. When the flies leave, every living thing above them on the food chain follows; by the end of the day the kingdom is empty, and the king very lonely. There's nothing left but to ask the wizard to bring back the flies, and to take a bath. ``That night, the Wizard tucked the king into bed'' and everybody lived happily ever after. The bright watercolors depict fleshy figures, including a king fit to be pinchedsurrounded by a sea of independent actions all going on at the same timecats and dogs holding their noses when the king passes; lobsters carrying suitcases; a worm curled up with a book. The comic illustrations are in perfect harmony with the text; both are informed by the same bonny sense of humor, and the book as a whole radiates good cheer. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1995
ISBN: 0-9641330-7-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1995
This book offers a fine mirror for brown boys who aspire to write, but it’s also a great pro-literacy story for all children...
A positive tale of how a story can emerge organically from an inkling of an idea to an imaginative literary excursion—even at the hands of preliterate kids.
This story’s young, brown-skinned male protagonist admires his big sister, who loves to read and write “BIG words and (little) words, page after page.” But with just his “swirl after swirl. Squiggle after squiggle,” he thinks he can’t write a story. Like any good writing coach, his sister tells him: “Write what you KNOW.” Using letters and squiggles, he writes about a visit to the ocean, where he and his sister play soccer, see waves, and encounter a shark. His story looks like this: “I o U …. VvVVvv ^.” During show and tell at school, he shares his draft and gets feedback, which helps him finish the story. Lowery’s line drawings and use of frames and speech bubbles common in comics make this a lively story that keeps readers guessing. He paints the protagonist’s story in progress in pale green, bringing the child’s imagination to life. The story’s ending suggests a sequel—or several—that will perhaps illustrate the protagonist’s growth as both reader and writer.
This book offers a fine mirror for brown boys who aspire to write, but it’s also a great pro-literacy story for all children about brown kids who hold reading and writing in high regard. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77138-016-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Lazy Jamie O'Rourke doesn't lift a finger, even after his wife hurts her hack digging the "praties" they depend on; but he does catch a leprechaun, who gives him a seed that grows into a potato so large that it takes the combined efforts of the village to dig it and, subsequently, to eat it—"until no one wanted to see or hear of potato again." DePaola's "Note About the Story" tells more of his own family history than of "the short tale that inspired" this one, which is totally unsourced; presumably, it predates the tragedy of the Potato Famine. Anyway, as retold here, it makes a cheery picture book, with the artist using the lighter, brighter side of his palette and including some affectionate caricatures of the Irish in his decorative illustrations. Attractive and amusing. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 20, 1992
ISBN: 0-399-22257-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1991
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