A brief, enigmatic story that parks most of its meaning (if there is any) on the metaphorical level. Forbidden to do so, Reina, Clara, and Amelia often sneak out of town to seen the mountain- sized giant. They always find him standing stiffly in his garden or bending down to weed with boulder-sized fingertips, oblivious to them no matter how much they shout, or wave, or hop about. One day, though, they catch his eye and, before beating a hasty retreat, leave three flowers in his palm. The girls are strongly affected by the episode and that night, safe in bed, hear the giant weeping, too. Readers are likely to find the point elusive, though Gerstein's exuberant illustrations—the girls, with arms and legs perpetually in motion, dash and dance through lush gardens and along the very edge of a rocky outcrop—and intense, simply phrased writing make an appealing match. The giant is a melancholy figure with the face of a young man, dressed in a patchwork of rags and rendered in washed-out colors, so huge that his face and hands are landscaped with streams, shrubs, and wildlife. A puzzling, perhaps private story, it is reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's fairy tales. (Picture book. 9-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-7868-0131-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1995
The book is a cute, but rather standard offering from Avi (Tom, Babette, and Simon, p. 776, etc.).
An adolescent mouse named Poppy is off on a romantic tryst with her rebel boyfriend when they are attacked by Mr. Ocax, the owl who rules over the area.
He kills the boyfriend, but Poppy escapes and Mr. Ocax vows to catch her. Mr. Ocax has convinced all the mice that he is their protector when, in fact, he preys on them mercilessly. When the mice ask his permission to move to a new house, he refuses, blaming Poppy for his decision. Poppy suspects that there is another reason Mr. Ocax doesn't want them to move and investigates to clear her name. With the help of a prickly old porcupine and her quick wits, Poppy defeats her nemesis and her own fears, saving her family in the bargain.
The book is a cute, but rather standard offering from Avi (Tom, Babette, and Simon, p. 776, etc.). (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-531-09483-9
Page Count: 147
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1995
A rare venture into contemporary fiction for Bruchac (The Circle of Thanks, p. 1529, etc.), this disappointing tale of a young Mohawk transplanted to Brooklyn, N.Y., is overstuffed with plotlines, lectures, and cultural information. Danny Bigtree gets jeers, or the cold shoulder, from his fourth-grade classmates, until his ironworker father sits him down to relate—at length- -the story of the great Mohawk peacemaker Aionwahta (Hiawatha), then comes to school to talk about the Iroquois Confederacy and its influence on our country's Founding Fathers. Later, Danny's refusal to tattle when Tyrone, the worst of his tormenters, accidentally hits him in the face with a basketball breaks the ice for good. Two sketchy subplots: Danny runs into an old Seminole friend, who, evidently due to parental neglect, has joined a gang; after dreaming of an eagle falling from a tree, Danny learns that his father has been injured in a construction- site accident. A worthy, well-written novella—but readers cannot be moved by a story that pulls them in so many different directions. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: March 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-8037-1918-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1996
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