Disguised but recognizable elements from several fairy tales give this romantic episode a faintly arch undertone. An arrogant but extremely handsome prince is transformed into a floppy-skinned bloodhound after making the mistake of annoying an old woman who happens to be a fairy. Soon he finds himself reduced to eating garbage and sleeping under a bush, until Eliza, a beautiful, kind-hearted goat girl with “eyes that are like a chimera’s”—whatever that means—takes him in, dubbing him “Prince,” and teaching him a bit of discipline. He falls in love, and is able to show his devotion at last by saving her from a rampaging chimera of the lion-headed sort. As he lies dying in her lap, she kisses him, thus breaking the spell and paving the way for a quick marriage and a life together—not in the palace, but in the hills with the goats. The pale, formal illustrations play it straight, depicting elegantly posed figures in elaborately embroidered Renaissance costume (except for the prince in his four-legged incarnation, of course). Though the telling is often stiff and somewhat forced, this is a pretty tale, equally suitable for fans of conventional romance or fairy tale pastiches. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-316-57417-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gibbons’s 100th book is devoted to presenting swine in a positive light; she quickly demystifies the stereotypes that cast pigs as smelly, dirty, greedy, and dull. Descended and domesticated from the wild boar, pigs come in hundreds of varieties, colors, shapes, and sizes; in simple language, the book outlines their characteristics, breeds, intelligence, communication, habits, and uses. The author distinguishes the various terms—hog, swine, gilt, sow, boar—while also explaining the act of wallowing in mud. The bulk of the text is characteristically factual, but Gibbons allows herself an opinion or two: “They are cute and lovable with their curly tails, their flat pink snouts and their noisy squeals and grunts.” Pen-and-watercolor drawings show sprightly pigs and a plethora of pink-cheeked children in tranquil farm scenes. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1441-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
Commissioned to flesh out a storyline and create a spoken text for a New York City Ballet production set to the Saint-Saëns piece, Lithgow offers a tale of a wayward schoolboy who escapes his teacher during a museum visit, falls asleep surrounded by stuffed exhibits in a closed gallery, and dreams of his classmates, neighbors, music teacher, librarian, mother, and great-aunt as animals. The author once again shows his knack for brisk doggerel—“Oliver Pendleton Percy the Third / Was a mischievous imp of a lad. / The tricks that he played on Professor McByrd / Nearly drove the old schoolmaster mad.” Kulikov catches the rollicking comic tone with floridly dressed, theatrically posed figures bearing animal-like heads on humanoid bodies, or vice versa, performing for an amused-looking lad in a rumpled school blazer. An attendant CD features actor Lithgow’s animated reading, interspersed with musical passages from the production. Though not quite another “Peter and the Wolf,” this will give a much-performed orchestral piece a leg up with younger listeners—and it works at least as well on paper as it does on stage. (Picture book with CD. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-689-86721-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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