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WHO’S THAT TRIPPING OVER MY BRIDGE?

Name: WHO’S THAT TRIPPING OVER MY BRIDGE?
Author: Coleen Salley
ISBN: 1-56554-890-6

by Coleen Salley & illustrated by Amy Jackson Dixon ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2001

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Renowned storyteller and retired children’s-literature professor Salley debuts as a children’s author with a retelling of the Three Billy Goats Gruff story set in her home territory of southern Louisiana. The goats in question live upriver from New Orleans in East Feliciana Parish. They decide to fatten themselves up in the hills of West Feliciana, and to get there they must cross the old wooden bridge at Thompson Creek. But a great big ugly troll that loves to gobble anything crossing that bridge lives underneath. Each of the three goats pass by, the first two outwitting the troll, the third out-muscling it. Those who know her from numerous appearances at conferences and libraries around the country will hear echoes of Salley’s distinctive voice and delivery, as the troll challenges each goat. Dixon (The Cajun Night After Christmas, not reviewed) cagily disdains draftsmanship for the kind of wild, loose paint strokes, splatters, bits of collage, and bright colors which young children might take as their own. The effect is a mirror to the rising and falling volume and onomatopoeia Salley uses to energize this old Norwegian folk tale. Salley has retired only from teaching as she proves that her expert storytelling skills are still in full bloom in this auspicious read-aloud. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 1, 2001

ISBN: 1-56554-890-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Pelican

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
EPOSSUMONDAS PLAYS POSSUM
by Coleen Salley and illustrated by Janet Stevens

- BOOK REVIEW
EPOSSUMONDAS SAVES THE DAY
by Coleen Salley & illustrated by Janet Stevens

- BOOK REVIEW
WHY EPOSSUMONDAS HAS NO HAIR ON HIS TAIL
by Coleen Salley & illustrated by Janet Stevens

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WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES, MR. BROWN?

by Justin Rhodes ; illustrated by Heather Dickinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2023

Pedestrian.

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Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.

Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 14, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals

Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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BUNNY MONEY

From the Max & Ruby series

by Rosemary Wells & illustrated by Rosemary Wells ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1997

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In the siblings' latest adventure, their grandmother is having a birthday (again! see Bunny Cakes, p. 67), so Ruby takes Max shopping. A music box with skating ballerinas is Ruby's idea of the perfect present; Max favors a set of plastic vampire teeth. Ruby's $15 goes fast, and somehow, most of it is spent on Max. The music box of Ruby's dreams costs $100, so she settles for musical earrings instead. There isn't even a dollar left for the bus, so Max digs out his lucky quarter and phones Grandma, who drives them home—happily wearing her new earrings and vampire teeth. As ever, Wells's sympathies are with the underdog: Max, in one-word sentences, out-maneuvers his officious sister once again. Most six- year-olds will be able to do the mental subtraction necessary to keep track of Ruby's money, and Wells helps by illustrating the wallet and its dwindling contents at the bottom of each page where a transaction occurs. Younger children may need to follow the author's suggestion and have an adult photocopy the ``bunny money'' on the endpapers, so they can count it out. Either way, the book is a great adjunct to primary-grade math lessons. (Picture book. 4-7)