From Davol (Batwings and the Curtain of Night, p. 379, etc.), an ambitious folk tale set in China. Humble Mi Fei is an artist, painting scenes of gods and heroes, and content to live in the small village where he is always ready to stop work and listen to the tales of his neighbors. One day his peaceful life is shattered when the great dragon of Lung Mountain awakens from sleep, destroying crops and ruining villages, and Mi Fei is chosen to appease it. The dragon assigns Mi Fei three seemingly impossible tasks: to bring fire wrapped in paper (he fashions a paper lantern), to bring wind wrapped in paper (he folds a fan), and to bring the strongest thing in the world—wrapped in paper. Mi Fei struggles over this last one, but paints a scene of his village and delivers the message to the dragon that love is stronger than everything. Sabuda's illustrations are endlessly inventive; the forms of clothing, dragon, plants, and trees are portrayed in painted tissue-paper collages affixed to Japanese papers; the faces of the figures are expertly painted, using economical brush strokes that express the personalities of the people Mi Fei so loves. The right-hand page of every scene is a gatefold, making each picture a triple-page horizontal spread- -sometimes Mi Fei is within the scene, sometimes he is creating it. It all comes together in a vibrant and surprising work. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-689-31992-4
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An introduction for young children, featuring large action photos in full color, an easy text, and an appended note for parents. Grosshandler describes and illustrates the (minimal) equipment needed, rules, field positions, ways to move the ball, penalties, and safety practices, then takes readers quickly through a game between two young, mixed teams. Like the author's Everyone Wins at Tee Ball (1990), this will give prospective players, and their parents, a good idea of what they're getting into. (Nonfiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-525-65064-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1991
The jacket calls this a folktale from Borneo, while LC classifies it as fiction. Whichever, it's an appealing story similar to ``The North Wind and the Sun,'' with the fierce West Wind stirring up the sea and letting loose a typhoon in an effort to dislodge a little tree frog from his leaf—a small feat more easily achieved by his cousin, the East Wind, with a gentle breeze like a lullaby. Using rich, tropical colors, Shepherd contrasts the sharp-toothed, tempestuous West Wind and his turbulent wake with his cousin's amiable cloud-face and the sunny serenity he restores. Extra local color (mostly descriptions of wildlife) makes this a bit long, but it's entertaining enough to sustain attention. (Picture book. 5-8)*justify no*
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1991
ISBN: 0-02-719035-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1991
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