retold by Margaret Read MacDonald & illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011
MacDonald’s lively retelling of this folktale is bound to fascinate kids; after all, who can resist a tale with a snot-nosed...
This Japanese variant of "The Fisherman and His Wife" features a poor flower seller and a snot-nosed boy.
When no one buys his flowers, a poor flower seller casts them into the sea for the Dragon King, who lives under the water. A beautiful lady rises up from the waves with a boy in her arms as a thank you. She tells the man he will bring him luck IF he makes the boy shrimp every day with vinegar and sugar. Though the little boy has “the snottiest nose you ever did see,” the man takes him home and prepares the shrimp. The boy snuffles it down, blows his nose hard three times—and the floor is covered with gold! The greedy man then wishes for a larger house, servants, a cook, treasure chests and so on, until he has everything he could possibly want. Disgusted with the snot-nosed boy’s blowing, he sends him back to the sea, and, of course, all of the riches disappear. The digitally enhanced, watercolor collage art is typically Japanese in setting, clothing and the wide-eyed (and grubby-faced) boy’s black topknot. The text is nicely repetitive and includes satisfyingly disgusting nose-blowing effects that children will love.
MacDonald’s lively retelling of this folktale is bound to fascinate kids; after all, who can resist a tale with a snot-nosed boy? (source note) (Picture book/folktale. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7513-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
Share your opinion of this book
More by Margaret Read MacDonald
BOOK REVIEW
by Margaret Read MacDonald ; illustrated by Rob McClurkan
BOOK REVIEW
by Margaret Read MacDonald & Gerald Fierst ; illustrated by Kitty Harvill
BOOK REVIEW
by Margaret Read MacDonald with Jen Whitman & Nat Whitman ; illustrated by Kitty Harvill
by Jordan Quinn ; illustrated by Robert McPhillips ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014
A gentle adventure that sets the stage for future quests.
A lonely prince gains a friend for a quest to find a missing jewel.
Prince Lucas of Wrenly has everything a boy could possibly want—except a friend. His father has forbidden him to play with the village children for reasons of propriety. Adventure-seeking Lucas acquires peasant clothes to masquerade as a commoner and make friends, but he is caught out. His mother, the queen, persuades the king to allow him one friend: Clara, the daughter of her personal dressmaker. When the queen’s prized emerald pendant goes missing, Lucas and Clara set off to find it. They follow the jewel as it changes hands, interviewing each temporary owner. Their adventure cleverly introduces the series’ world and peoples, taking the children to the fairy island of Primlox, the trolls’ home of Burth, the wizard island of Hobsgrove and finally Mermaid’s Cove. By befriending the mermaids, Lucas and Clara finally recover the jewel. In thanks, the king gives Clara a horse of her own so that she may ride with Lucas on their future adventures. The third-person narration is generally unobtrusive, allowing the characters to take center stage. The charming, medieval-flavored illustrations set the fairy-tale scene and take up enough page space that new and reluctant readers won’t be overwhelmed by text.
A gentle adventure that sets the stage for future quests. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-9691-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jordan Quinn
BOOK REVIEW
by Jordan Quinn ; illustrated by Glass House Graphics
by Daniel Bernstrom ; illustrated by Shane W. Evans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 14, 2020
This beautiful celebration of the importance of family will also spur young readers to reflect on history.
An African American grandfather and grandson take a time-traveling journey through U.S. history in this mystical and heartwarming picture book.
When his grandson announces that he does not want to go to school, Big Papa takes action. Sweeping him up in his time machine (which looks a lot like a 1950s-era automobile), the pair visit Little Rock and Chicago in the ’40s through the ’80s, the places where Big Papa grew to manhood. In recounting his struggles with dangerous jobs and working conditions and his trepidation at marriage and impending fatherhood, Big Papa gives his grandson a lesson in developing bravery while also teaching him the importance of getting an education. Love and reverence for history and family radiate from Bernstorm’s words. Backmatter indicates that the story is inspired by the author’s family, and he couldn’t have penned a more moving testament to their dignity and endurance. Evans’ whimsical, sunny-hued illustrations have a dreamlike quality that nicely maintains balance between the fantasy of time travel and the heaviness of some of the subject matter. This is particularly evident in the vignette set in the Arkansas cotton fields, where a fellow African American tells Big Papa to give up school because “work, that’s all you ever gonna do.”
This beautiful celebration of the importance of family will also spur young readers to reflect on history. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-246331-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Daniel Bernstrom
BOOK REVIEW
by Daniel Bernstrom ; illustrated by Brandon James Scott
BOOK REVIEW
by Daniel Bernstrom ; illustrated by Jenin Mohammed
BOOK REVIEW
by Daniel Bernstrom ; illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.