This folktale has been a favorite for many storytellers and Crum, a storyteller herself, provides a smooth and lively retelling that will send shivers down the listener’s spine. Old Tar Pockets is a truly greedy man who steals warm, soft tar from a neighbor’s bucket and sticks it in his pocket as it is the only thing he has to carry it back home. He also digs up “sweet taters” for supper—but in the process he finds a big, hairy toe. He sticks the toe in the same pocket as the tar, and it sticks tight. That night, he hears a voice crying, “WHO TOOK MY HAIRY TOE?” so he crawls under the quilt to escape, but the voice keeps asking the question. At last, he answers, begging the beast to take it, but, since it is stuck in his pocket, the beast carries Old Tar Pockets away. The tale ends with the folk saying, “ ‘Pay that no nevermind! It’s just Old Tar Pockets getting his due.’ I say, ‘Just as long as what’s in your pocket is yours . . . I wouldn’t worry about it.’ ” Illustrations begin with bright and sunny rural landscapes, but soon become somber, dark, and scary as the telling gets progressively scarier. The beast is suitably ghostly until the last two spreads, where he is depicted as huge and furry as he carts Tar Pockets off. An author’s note cites sources for the tale and the variants, which include the British “Teeny Tiny Bone” and the Midwestern “Tailipoo.” (Folktale. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8075-5972-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2001
Fun, in an odd sort of way.
The old folk song is given a Hanukkah spin in a parody that blends Jewish tradition with art appreciation.
The kerchiefed grandma swallows a tiny dreidel placed atop her cream-cheesed bagel by the family cat, setting off the familiar chain of events. She swallows the oil, the latkes, 10 barrels of applesauce, a 20-ton brisket, a “mine full of gelt, before it could melt,” the menorah and candles until she is finally full. A large burp makes her feel better. The silliness, cadence and rhythm of the verse all work with the original tune; it can be a tongue twister at times but will keep kids engaged. “I know an old lady who swallowed a menorah— / A mountainous menorah, while we danced the hora.” Acrylic-based drawings using charcoal, pen and pencil place this bubbe in various scenes taken from classical paintings, providing an educational twist. She appears in comical versions of Munch’s The Scream and Vermeer’s The Milkmaid. The applesauce in a red-and-white can spoofs Andy Warhol’s Campbell Soup Cans, and the menorah is set against the background of van Gogh’s The Starry Night. Adults will see the humor but might wonder about the artist’s point in his note stating that “a new look at famous works of art seemed like the perfect way to help people of all backgrounds enjoy this fresh take on an ancient holiday.”
Fun, in an odd sort of way. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-439-91530-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
Empty calories
Hippo dreams of “a good, old-fashioned Thanksgiving.”
It’s not all smooth sailing. Hippo is raking and dreaming of Thanksgiving goodies when Duck plunges into Hippo’s leaf pile and musses it up. When a falling apple bonks Hippo on the head and he then gives it to Duck, Duck thanks him, triggering an invitation to celebrate the day together. The two friends go off to shop and find themselves in mishap after mild mishap, meeting friends and inviting them one by one to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. Duck engages in mild tomfoolery, but Hippo maintains his genial calm. That evening, Duck goes back to their friends and suggests that they plan a surprise for Hippo. The next day, Hippo prepares a delicious assortment of traditional (all vegetarian) dishes and then waits for his friends—who show up late with their surprise: more food (eggrolls, sushi, pizza, and peanut-butter–and-jelly tacos), which temporarily puts Hippo out because it “is NOT a good, old-fashioned Thanksgiving feast!” Hippo rapidly gets over himself, and the friends all have a good time. While the message of enjoying fellowship and valuing each individual’s contributions is a worthy one, this meandering tale offers little to chew on in terms of character development or plot. Joyner’s anthropomorphic cartoon animals are cheery, but his illustrations do nothing to give London’s story any depth.
Empty calories . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5039-0080-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
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