A delightful folk tale from a region that is not often represented in our literature.
A fluid retelling of “Why Is the Tip of the Ermine’s Tail Black,” a pourquoi tale from the far northeastern reaches of Siberia.
One bitterly cold winter, a hunter nurtures an ermine back to life after it has fallen down his chimney, and the ermine grows a thick white coat of fur. Later that winter, when the ermine thinks the hunter is away, it eats all the old man’s butter. Furious, the man grabs a hot poker and thrusts it at the tip of the ermine’s tail, turning it black. The story is engaging, with a clear lesson and a happy ending. Text and narration are available in English, Russian and Yakut, with different narrators for each language. The English translation is smooth and pleasant. Digital illustrations and simple animations add humor and context to the story. Unfortunately, the font (in all three languages) is terribly small (readers can simply hide the text altogether and just listen to the story). Although a suite of Yakut folk tales is planned for the future, this is the only tale included at the time of review, making for a slight disconnect between icon and story content at the moment.
A delightful folk tale from a region that is not often represented in our literature. (Requires iOS 6 and above.) (iPad folk-tale app. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Fivetronics
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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