by Virginia Hamilton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 17, 1983
The Martians—of Orson Welles' famous 1938 broadcast—don't just queer Willie Bea's Halloween; they pretty much shatter Hamilton's keen, affecting drama of family relations. "Oh, it was something, Willie Bea thought, Sunday time and company and Halloween begging time, all in one day and night." Across the Dayton Road, at Grand and Gramp's old homestead—protected by a "big old bluegrass lawn"—the men are in the front parlor, listening to the radio and drinking highballs; the women are in the kitchen, comfortably fixing dinner; and the children, everybody's charges, are vying for the attention of beautiful, exciting Aunt Leah—three times married, rich and generous, a fortune-teller. The scene ruptures with Mama's realization of what Willie Bea has been told by her hateful cousin Little Wing, also 12: Willie Ben's baby brother has been lured away again by Little Wing's gentle-monster brother, Big Wing—who is shooting pumpkins, with bow-and-arrow, off the compliant tot's head. Willie Bea calms Mama down—sure that Little Wing has put him up to it, convinced that "Big could not miss" . . . any more than she could lose her footing on the high crossbeam in Uncle Jimmy Wing's barn. But Willie Bea's wise papa unexpectedly makes her promise not to walk the crossbeam any more (what if her little sister imitated her?) and, at his (and Gramp's) firm insistence, Uncle Jimmy takes away Big's bow-and-arrows. The solace, for Willie Bea, is Aunt Leah's discovery of a Star of Venus in her palm: "Most fine, impossible good luck. . . . You will win the world." (Why hadn't Papa married Aunt Leah, as he might?) Back home, waiting for trick-or-treat time, Willie Bea entertains her little sister and brother with radio imitations (a wonderful, period and child-true scene); she gets them ready, in make-do costumes and (scarey-to-themselves) makeup; and, then, descending in triumph—they find Aunt Leah, glamorously attired and escorted, shireking that the world is coming to an end! What follows is mainly spook-farce and thematic manipulation—which will be read differently, moreover, by kids who've learned about the Orson Welles broadcast from the jacket (or elsewhere), and those who haven't. The family, mostly terrified, huddles at Grand and Gramp's; Willie Bea, with a cohort, sneaks off on stilts to the local farm where Martians have supposedly landed—thinking that they're actually "Venus ones," come to see her; at the farm, she takes a night-working combine for the monsters. . . falls off her stilts, gets knocked out, eventually has to acknowledge her mistake, and is consoled by Aunt Leah's assurance that, nonetheless, "anything can happen" (and by Leah's gift of a much-wanted, store-bought costume for the next Halloween). In switching to special effects and juvenile-fiction platitudes, Hamilton undercuts the resonant descriptions and emotional cross-currents of her earlier, stage-worthy naturalism. For kids, it won't be fatal; but it is too bad.
Pub Date: Oct. 17, 1983
ISBN: 0590120298
Page Count: 230
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1983
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by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Sandra Equihua ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2017
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit.
Readers try to dislodge a monster from the pages of this emotive and interactive read-aloud.
“OH NO!” the story starts. “There’s a monster in your book!” The blue, round-headed monster with pink horns and a pink-tipped tail can be seen cheerfully munching on the opening page. “Let’s try to get him out,” declares the narrator. Readers are encouraged to shake, tilt, and spin the book around, while the monster careens around an empty background looking scared and lost. Viewers are exhorted to tickle the monster’s feet, blow on the page, and make a really loud noise. Finally, shockingly, it works: “Now he’s in your room!” But clearly a monster in your book is safer than a monster in your room, so he’s coaxed back into the illustrations and lulled to sleep, curled up under one page and cuddling a bit of another like a child with their blankie. The monster’s entirely cute appearance and clear emotional reactions to his treatment add to the interactive aspect, and some young readers might even resist the instructions to avoid hurting their new pal. Children will be brought along on the monster’s journey, going from excited, noisy, and wiggly to calm and steady (one can hope).
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit. (Picture book. 2-7)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6456-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
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