The clever fisherman’s son who solved The Warlord’s Puzzle (not reviewed) returns to get his father out of a pickle—inventing one of the most widely used accounting tools in the process. Tallying the warlord’s treasures might seem a simple enough task—but what with all the distractions at the palace, young Chuan’s father keeps coming up with different totals. Considering the warlord’s iffy temper, it’s a perilous situation, but Chuan saves the day with a device of carved beads strung onto sticks—a forerunner, as Pilegard explains at the end, of the abacus. As in Chuan’s earlier triumph, Debon evocatively depicts court dress and decorative details, but tends to exaggerate the facial expressions of his puppet-like figures to the point of caricature. Nor will the author’s scanty comments about place notation teach young readers how a true abacus is used. Still, capped with a diagram for a modern version of Chuan’s counting frame made of cardboard, pipe cleaners, and o-shaped breakfast cereal, this makes a good, if sketchy, story reminiscent of Stuart Murphy’s popular MathStart series. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-56554-863-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Pelican
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The chubby piglets are very small, the wolf big, bony, and very bad, in this sly retelling of the familiar tale. Moser (Those Building Men, 2000, etc.) relates it in formal language, toning down the traditional story line's violence but adding plenty of biting (so to speak) humor with expressively drawn figures in deceptively sunny rural landscapes. The first two piggies exude misplaced confidence, and though they meet their ends offstage, the sight of the bloated wolf reclining amidst the wreckage between a bucket of clean bones and an empty jar of Bubba's BBQ Sauce (Moser decorates the label with a self-portrait) will leave no doubt as to their fate. The third pig does better, building his house with "No Wolf Brick" and following through with the traditional trip to the turnip field (boiling them in a "Lupus Ware" pot), the apple orchard, and the fair. He is last seen enjoying a tasty stew, made from "My Mama's Wolf Stew with Garlic," wearing wolfie slippers, and sporting a positively diabolical expression of satisfaction. Never has that big bad wolf been better served. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-316-58544-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2001
Uhlberg (Mad Dog McGraw, 2000, etc.) presents a properly poker-faced retelling of a popular European folktale. Lemuel the fisherman finally makes good on his dream of visiting a magical town he is sure sits just over the horizon. Aiming his boat in the direction of the red scarf he's tied to the bow, he is caught up in a storm and temporarily loses consciousness. No matter, the scarf still points the way. But when he arrives, he's astonished to discover that the streets, buildings, and people look just like those in his native village. Even more amazing, there's a boy who looks just like his son Sol and a woman who could not only be his wife Essie's twin, but she even knows his name! It's all too weird; Lemuel sneaks away that night, and after falling asleep in mid-voyage, "returns" to his own home. The tale's mild humor is picked up nicely in Lamut's airy paintings; nearly all of her neatly drawn people go about their business cheerfully among well-kept, tile-roofed houses, and despite her sharp-sounding words, Essie always greets her foolish husband with a fond smile. This rib-tickler should induce many a young armchair traveler to pay a visit to Chelm or Gotham. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-56145-220-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2001
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