Fourteen short, surreal poems originally published in Russian over 35 years ago see their first English versions, paired to dark, scratchy paintings featuring angular people and farm animals in countrified dress. The titular horse, depicted as a fastidious prancer with spots and a stylish perm, leads the way: “A horse has four shoes with black rubber soles, / Two of them new, but the others have holes. / If the weather is fair, no rain in the news, / The horse likes to wear her best pair of shoes.” Elsewhere, a couple crack nuts with their telescope and throw the shells off their roof, a curious cow confronts a stubborn turkey hauling a locked trunk, green “Mr. Croakley” rather ominously vanishes after “Mr. Quackley” passes by and a child yearns for a pet elephant. Some readers may be amused by the fitfully rhymed verses’ quirkiness, but this sampler is best considered a curiosity, for deeper collections. (Poetry. 7-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-9646010-1-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Pumpkin House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2005
Definitely on a roll, Stevenson has reinvented himself as a poet, following up Sweet Corn (1995) and Popcorn (1998) with this new set of small, seemingly artless, instantly engaging free verse, printed in a variety of shapes and colors. It’s a mix of appreciative observations of the everyday—bird song, hats, the many things passersby carry—with imaginative flights, from the thought that a drawbridge structure makes “a swell hotel for trolls,” to the claim that dumpsters rock-and-roll on Halloween; every one of the accompanying freely drawn watercolors captures to perfection the essence of its subject, whether it be a peanut, a shabby old building, dogwood in spring, or a spectacularly complicated road-paving machine. This is another gem from an astonishingly versatile veteran, and readers following the series will rightly speculate on the next collection’s title: Feed Corn? Unicorn? (Poetry. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-15837-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A resonant, evocative tale about a lonely woman and the child of the sea who becomes her dearest companion. Mariana, an old woman, lives by the sea that is a mother to her, providing her with food for the table, driftwood for her fire, and music for her soul. But she is lonely, for the village children mock her and run away. One day after a wild storm when the sea-wolves prowl, she finds a crab shell; within it is a tiny merchild, with pearly skin and hair “the color of the setting sun.” Mariana, at the advice of the Wise Woman, places the merbaby where her mother, the Sea Spirit, can see she is safe; every day the Sea Spirit comes to feed her daughter and to teach her. Mariana cares for her the rest of the time, even though she knows the merchild must eventually return to the sea. The village children come to play with the merchild, and warm to Mariana. When the merchild does finally rejoin her mother, she returns daily to Mariana with gifts and greetings. Conveyed in the emotionally rich telling are the rhythm of waves, filial devotion, the loving care of children, and the knowledge of beasts. The beautiful illustrations are full of the laps and curves of the ocean, the brilliant colors of sea and sky, and the gorgeous reds and dusky browns of fabric, interiors, skin tones, and shells. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8028-5204-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1999
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