A stepmother’s endeavor to give a kingdom to her own sons sends the real heir on a quest that offers another story. His stepmother lays a geis, a deadly spell, upon the eldest prince of Ireland to not sleep two nights under the same roof nor eat two meals from the same fire until he has brought her the three magic stallions that the young giant Sean O’Donal keeps at the edge of the western world. Before beginning his quest, the prince lays a geis of his own on the queen: she must stand before the high cross with a sheaf of oats in the one hand and a needle in the other and eat nothing but what comes from the sheaf of oats and passes through the eye of the needle until he returns. He and his two stepbrothers, friends that they are, set out together. They come upon the giant’s sisters and hide themselves in their bundles. This gets them into the horse barn, but one of the stallions tells him that he can only go with him if the giant allows it. The prince summons the giant, but soon finds himself and the two stepsons hung from the rafters, roasting over a fire. He bargains with the giant to tell a story of a fix that was worse than this one. The three sit by the fire and the prince proceeds to tell of his rescue of a baby giant from a fierce giant; the babe proves to be none other than the giant himself. The grateful giant sends him off with the stallions and he returns home triumphant. The lilt of the language makes this fun to read, but the pastel illustrations, despite clever line and lively scenes, seem almost washed out and lack the strength of the adventure. For tellers, then, not readers. (author’s source notes) (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: March 15, 2003
ISBN: 0-8234-1573-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2003
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-399-24772-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A Cinderella parody features the off-the-wall, whang-dang Texas hyperbole of Ketteman (The Year of No More Corn, 1993, etc.) and the insouciance of Warhola, who proves himself only too capable of creating a fairy godcow; that she's so appealingly whimsical makes it easy to accept the classic tale's inversions. The protagonist is Bubba, appropriately downtrodden and overworked by his wicked stepdaddy and loathsome brothers Dwayne and Milton, who spend their days bossing him around. The other half of the happy couple is Miz Lurleen, who owns ``the biggest spread west of the Brazos.'' She craves male companionship to help her work the place, ``and it wouldn't hurt if he was cute as a cow's ear, either.'' There are no surprises in this version except in the hilarious way the premise plays itself out and in Warhola's delightful visual surprises. When Lurleen tracks the bootless Bubba down, ``Dwayne and Milton and their wicked daddy threw chicken fits.'' Bubba and babe, hair as big as a Texas sun, ride off to a life of happy ranching, and readers will be proud to have been along for the courtship. (Picture book/folklore. 6-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-590-25506-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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