One of many stories about Kanchil, the mouse deer trickster figure of Indonesian folklore. In this tale, Monyet the monkey and the small deer decide to plant trees so they will no longer have to hunt for food. When their favorite fruits start to appear, Kanchil realizes that Monyet is the only one who can climb up and get the fruit. Monyet eats all the bananas, his personal favorite, but then climbs the mango tree and starts to eat all of Kanchil’s mangoes too. The mouse deer finds a way to stop this from happening: He insults the vain monkey by telling him that all his facial features resemble different vegetables. Finally the monkey starts throwing mangoes at him in response, and Kanchil has found a way to solve his problem. A traditional form of Indian textile art, Kalamkari, that traveled to Indonesia in centuries past, has been used for the illustrations and its intense vegetables dyes and stylized flora and fauna provide an unusual backdrop for this amusing folktale. The explanation at the back of Kalamkari (with photographs) is interesting for adults, but far too complex for the intended readers. (Picture book/folktale. 6-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2006
ISBN: 81-86211-06-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tara Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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