Three volumes of the "American fairy tales" the poet called "Rootabaga Stories" were published between 1922 and 1930; later, according to an introduction by Sandburg scholar George Hendrick, he wrote dozens more that have never been published. Here, Hendrick selects ten that "most reflect Sandburg's incomparable storytelling magic." Favorite characters and places—"The Potato Face Blind Man," "Ax Me No Questions," "The Village of Liver and Onions"—join characters with names recalling Sandburg's children's nicknames ("Spink," "Skabootch," "Swipes") and some grand new ones (one trio: "Burnt Chestnuts," "The Beans Are Burning," and "Sweeter Than The Bees Humming"). For connoisseurs of Sandburg's uniquely whimsical and melodious use of the American idiom, these tales are a delight; the ruminative, ear-tickling repetitions, visual images, astonishing juxtapositions, airy surreal happenings, and sly metaphorical comments on human foibles are all here in strength. And Zelinsky's accomplishment is equally great. Using colored pencils on plastivellum drafting film, he mirrors and embellishes Sandburg's fantastical creations with enormous delicacy and imagination, providing dozens of delicious variations on the rutabaga theme (one becomes a coiled blue cat with downward-descending tail, others have fey creatures nestled in their greens), limning characters with characteristic energy, artfully manipulating the very text. His art for the last tale, where the poet makes a cameo appearance, is especially lovely and ingenious. Splendid in every way. (Fiction. 4+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-679-80070-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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