The monthlong Carnival celebrations in Ponce, a coastal town in southern Puerto Rico, as experienced by a boy who lives in a very modest barrio. Secretly, Ram¢n has made a costume and ordered a colorful, grotesquely horned papier-mÉchÇ mask so that he can join the other boys and men who travel the streets, playing tricks on bystanders. These masqueraders are named for the balloon-like vejigas they carry—brightly painted, inflated cows' bladders, sometimes filled with pebbles or beans to create noisemakers. Ram¢n's story is affectingly told in both English (black) and Spanish (blue), with bright, mixed-media pictures; what's lacking is any explanation of Carnival or the origin and significance of the devil-like masqueraders, or why—only in Ponce—the vejigantes frolic for an entire month. Several pages at the end contain information about other masqueraders in Spain and Latin America, directions for making a vejigante mask, and some of the vejigantes' chants; an added fillip is the inclusion of 28 well-hidden lizards (one for each February day) in the pictures. Admirable in bringing an unfamiliar custom to life, but without enough background to fully understand it. Short glossary; bibliography. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-590-45776-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1993
The little old lady who shrinks ``to the size of a teaspoon'' at unexpected moments has appeared in several story collections (Mrs. Pepperpot to the Rescue, 1963); this amusing additional tale is a good sample of their Scandinavian flavor. When her own well goes dry, Mrs. Pepperpot tries to break the ice in another one nearby, but she's chased by a belligerent moose. Undaunted, she sets out again with a pole, and then with a gun, all to no avail—the baleful moose still hovers. She finally decides to make do with snow, but she suddenly shrinks and falls into her pail, which rolls downhill and gets hooked on the moose's antler—thus giving him a well-deserved fright. Berg, a Swedish political cartoonist who was Prysen's original illustrator, depicts the doughty heroine looking appropriately like a somewhat frazzled pepperpot and also provides authentic details of the northern landscape. In the excellent translation, the rather old-fashioned story moves along with brisk good humor. An attractive book that will especially entertain newly independent readers. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 29, 1991
ISBN: 91-29-59924-5
Page Count: 28
Publisher: R&S/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
The title here is a nudge from a new author/illustrator who lacks confidence in his audience: this is hardly the first time a book's real purpose is not simply its plot. Lehan's protagonist is a solitary artist whose mountain is invaded by a huge flock of dodos. He tries unsuccessfully to ignore them—they insinuate themselves into his pictures as the shapes of trees, clouds, or even a pond. Then he tries to paint them on purpose, but they refuse to hold still. At last he gets the hang of representing his difficult subject, only to have the dodos disappear again. Now what? He arrays his dodo pictures over the landscape and sits down to paint. Thought-provoking, if a bit contrived, and the ideas may be beyond the readership suggested by the format. Still, the bold art—featuring vibrantly contrasting colors and flat, often repetitive forms in decorative compositions—is arrestingly fresh. Worth a try if funds allow, especially where there's interest in books about the nature of the creative process. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-525-44878-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
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