Provocative.
A wordless condemnation of violence and war—their often absurd origins and always grim aftermath.
It all starts with a frog lazily enjoying the smell of a flower. A mouse happens along and snatches the flower. The frog, with two friends, retaliates by swiping the mouse's umbrella. Things escalate as additional frogs and mice enter the fray, the tools of battle grow more sophisticated, and full-blown warfare erupts. In the end, the terrain is wasted and everyone's the loser. Popov captures all the ugliness of war: the smoky gloom of armies on the march, the blank look of the soldier in battle, the scary machines of war. The last page of this artful cautionary tale gives further pause. There sits the frog with a shattered umbrella, the mouse with a wilted flower—their pathetic spoils. Still they do not acknowledge one another; more dazed than transformed, they look capable of taking up arms again at any moment.
Provocative. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 1-55858-534-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1996
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-399-24772-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008
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