Disobeying his mother, Little Billy goes into the "Forest of Sin," where he is very nearly devoured by a fire-breathing monster. Just in time, he escapes up a tree, where he discovers a community of tiny people, the Minpins. The Minpins' homes, into which Billy can peer with one eye, remind him of the Queen's Doll House at Windsor Castle; they use their friends the birds for transport. When the Minpins explain that they, too, are being terrorized by the Red-Hot Smoke-Belching Gruncher, Little Billy devises a heroic plan: riding on a swan, he'll lure the monster into the lake (it can't see where it's going because of its own smoke). So he does, becoming a hero, and thereafter secretly visits his new friends. Typical Dahl: a childlike adventure with fantastical antagonists who have rib-tickling names, and a trite, airy moral ("Those who don't believe in magic will never find it"). Benson brings it all to life in his skillfully detailed art—crosshatched pen-and-ink plus cheery color. There are several dramatic double spreads involving the monster, plus beguiling minutiae of the Minpins' treetop life. The long text is suitable for reading aloud to younger children and will also entertain the late author's older fans. (Fiction/Picture book. 4-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-670-84168-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1991
A gentle adventure that sets the stage for future quests.
A lonely prince gains a friend for a quest to find a missing jewel.
Prince Lucas of Wrenly has everything a boy could possibly want—except a friend. His father has forbidden him to play with the village children for reasons of propriety. Adventure-seeking Lucas acquires peasant clothes to masquerade as a commoner and make friends, but he is caught out. His mother, the queen, persuades the king to allow him one friend: Clara, the daughter of her personal dressmaker. When the queen’s prized emerald pendant goes missing, Lucas and Clara set off to find it. They follow the jewel as it changes hands, interviewing each temporary owner. Their adventure cleverly introduces the series’ world and peoples, taking the children to the fairy island of Primlox, the trolls’ home of Burth, the wizard island of Hobsgrove and finally Mermaid’s Cove. By befriending the mermaids, Lucas and Clara finally recover the jewel. In thanks, the king gives Clara a horse of her own so that she may ride with Lucas on their future adventures. The third-person narration is generally unobtrusive, allowing the characters to take center stage. The charming, medieval-flavored illustrations set the fairy-tale scene and take up enough page space that new and reluctant readers won’t be overwhelmed by text.
A gentle adventure that sets the stage for future quests. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-9691-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
This beautiful celebration of the importance of family will also spur young readers to reflect on history.
An African American grandfather and grandson take a time-traveling journey through U.S. history in this mystical and heartwarming picture book.
When his grandson announces that he does not want to go to school, Big Papa takes action. Sweeping him up in his time machine (which looks a lot like a 1950s-era automobile), the pair visit Little Rock and Chicago in the ’40s through the ’80s, the places where Big Papa grew to manhood. In recounting his struggles with dangerous jobs and working conditions and his trepidation at marriage and impending fatherhood, Big Papa gives his grandson a lesson in developing bravery while also teaching him the importance of getting an education. Love and reverence for history and family radiate from Bernstorm’s words. Backmatter indicates that the story is inspired by the author’s family, and he couldn’t have penned a more moving testament to their dignity and endurance. Evans’ whimsical, sunny-hued illustrations have a dreamlike quality that nicely maintains balance between the fantasy of time travel and the heaviness of some of the subject matter. This is particularly evident in the vignette set in the Arkansas cotton fields, where a fellow African American tells Big Papa to give up school because “work, that’s all you ever gonna do.”
This beautiful celebration of the importance of family will also spur young readers to reflect on history. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-246331-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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