Twice bestirred, twice entangled in human affairs (An Older Kind of Magic, The Nargun and the Stars), the earth-spirits Wrightson has invoked from Australian aboriginal lore are now ubiquitous, a primordial underground—whose rising, previously an incident, takes on the dimensions and import of a Flood. Or, in the careless heat of an Australian Christmas season, of an incipient ice age. On the continent's green edges live the Happy Folk; scattered behind are the Inlanders and the land's own dark-skinned People (with appropriate eco-moral values: the coastal city dwellers, the residents of the outback, and the Aborigines). An icy blast in the desert, the local People's knowledge of the ice-bearded, clamorous Ninya ("No men left to sing them back into their caves")—plus newspaper reports of sudden, approaching frosts—take young Wirrun of the People from his city gasstation job to fight the peril that only he recognizes. As sidekick he has the petulant, wispy Mimi, stick-figure femme fatale; for protection, the Power bestowed by the first of the creatures in their path. Wirrun has sent for the men from Mount Conner to sing the Ninya down; what he must also do, he learns, is beat the Ninya to the Eldest Nargun, source of fire, and rouse it to hold them until the men arrive. In the final seaside reckoning, however, the liveliest part is played by some Aboriginals Wirrun enlists—and by an observant Inlander tipped off because, for once, he sees the People "brisk and in good humor." Apart from the Happy Folk caricature, Wrightson does well by her character mix—even allowing the Mimi, most sensitive of spirits, to remind Wirrun of "the curious thing that men were made for: to care." The levity and sentiment are a relief from the ponderousness—itself redeemed, in large measure, by Wrightson's precise, muscular writing.
Pub Date: Sept. 9, 1977
ISBN: 0345332482
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1977
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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