Shepard (Master Man, 2001, etc.) retells an old Finnish tale about a very unusual way of choosing a very unusual bride. Two brothers are old enough to marry and their father reminds them that in family custom, they each must cut down a tree and follow where it points. Now, the older brother knows how to fell a tree so it falls where he wants, and he sets it toward his sweetheart’s farm. But the younger brother, Mikko, has no sweetheart and his tree points to the forest. Deep in the woods he finds a cottage and inside a mouse, who stands on her hind legs and tells him she’d be glad to be his sweetheart, and then sings him a little song. The next day, the father sends his sons to bring back cloth woven by their sweethearts—in Shepard’s version there is no demand for exceptional quality. Mikko’s mouse lets him nap, while an army of her fellow mice weave fine linen that fits into a nutshell. Mikko’s father, dazzled by the cloth, sets the next day for the weddings. When Mikko’s bride drives up in her tiny nutshell drawn by rats, Mikko’s brother, seeing only rodents, kicks them all into the stream. But when Mikko looks up, a beautiful princess in a mouse-colored gown of pearly velvet appears, her enchantment broken. The language is bright and cheery throughout, with the kind of repetition children, and storytellers, love and Shepard offers a reader’s theatre script on his Web site. Gore’s (The Secret of the Great Houdini, p. 876, etc.) paintings have the velvety texture of their pastel and acrylic medium in deep blues and greens; Finnish-inspired borders decorate textiles and some of the page edges. Prettily told, with sweet lessons about love and trust, no matter how odd the circumstances. (music notation, source notes) (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-9)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-689-82912-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2002
Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class announcing: “I’m your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything.” Everything about her is unusual and mysterious—her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince’s palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are “absolutely true.” Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher’s lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of “how a story is made” titles. Gooney Bird’s stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children’s fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-23848-4
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
