An offbeat blend of education and mayhem, themed just right for Halloween.
A coven of witches stirs up the Great Brungle Stew with a variety of collective nouns to summon Mr. Brungle, the “wickedly vile” heartthrob of “the witch with a wart,” in this offering from India.
“A QUIVER OF COBRAS, / Shoot them in straight. / From A LOUNGE OF LIZARDS / Add exactly eight! // Make sure to toss in / A MISCHIEF OF MICE. / Or just one big rat / Is sure to suffice.” Interesting and unusual collective nouns for different animals are written in uppercase type, while the rest of the text is set in standard fashion. The rhymes of the quatrains as well as the meter are occasionally inconsistent. Illustrations are darkly colorful, with the many animals represented fairly realistically, while the witches, with brown skin and white hair, sport long, pointy noses and sparse teeth. Their charm delights (though it may need some practice before reading aloud): “Tremple Gemple Fever Sticks / Pimple Poxile Psittacosis / Frungle Brungle, Where Are You? / Appear Now! Shimshamshoo!” When the spell does not work, one of the witch sisters adds the last essential ingredient at midnight, and what appears? The titular tangle of brungles! The collective nouns range far and wide, as the witches toss in a kaleidoscope of butterflies, a clew of worms, a paddle of ducks, and many more.
An offbeat blend of education and mayhem, themed just right for Halloween. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-8-181903-60-0
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Karadi Tales
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
This Dylan Thomas–Dr. Seuss–Lewis Carroll love child has the power to enrapture, with lots of practice.
Halloween night brings an epic battle between hordes of “SKUL-A-MUG-MUGS” (skeletons) and the “tyke-tots” (children) who want to go out trick-or-treating.
Heidbreder crafts his tale in rhyming nonsensical text, while Martz illustrates in a cartoon style with a strict palette of black, grays, white, yellow, orange and reds. Set against the dark night, the menacing skeletons boast how they will “brain-frizz tall-bigs. / Halloween they’ll deep nix. / They’ll shup-clup inside / nasty Noras and Nicks!” But the costumed kids rally—they are not “splooked-out” like their parents. On a vibrantly red double-page spread, the two forces splendidly clash on a neighborhood street: “The scare-fest crish-crashed, / up-over-round under… // …but strong-sure tyke-tots / out movvered SKUL thunder.” Soon the skeletons disappear, adults shake off their fears, and the children resume their Halloween quest for candy. All ends well on a high fueled by the exciting victory and the profusion of “sweet-treats.” Some readers will enjoy puzzling out the meanings of the many made-up words or simply relish how the language sounds when read aloud. But others may not be up to the task of so much decoding, even if the impeccably detailed pictures help provide much-needed clues to the action.
This Dylan Thomas–Dr. Seuss–Lewis Carroll love child has the power to enrapture, with lots of practice. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55453-302-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
A title for confident emerging readers interested in new princess and knight stories
This early-reader adaptation of a Russian story reads like a “Cinderella” tale but casts a third-born son as its protagonist.
Ivan does good on his promise to his dying father to sit by his grave after he dies, and he also takes the place of his older brothers in the vigil when they are too frightened to stay true to their word. As a reward for his bravery and loyalty, the father’s ghost gives Ivan a magic bridle that ends up helping him win the princess’s hand in marriage even though he isn’t as handsome, rich or successful as his brothers or the other knights who compete in the challenge she sets forth. The story is broken up into short chapters, which will support new readers’ progress through the text, but sentence length, typeface and some vocabulary may prove challenging. Illustrations will doubtlessly help clarify the story, though a key plot detail that has Ivan passing through the ears of his magical horse, Starlight Grey, is not depicted in the art. Ultimately, the fresh fairy-tale content of the story will likely motivate readers to puzzle through its delivery even if it’s not just the right fit for their skills
A title for confident emerging readers interested in new princess and knight stories . (Early reader/folk tale. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-84686-778-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
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