With folktale characters crowding the supporting cast, a sturdy heroine sets out to rustle up some gold to save her mine, house and hand from an oily banker in this elaborately staged—if not particularly well-knit—potboiler. Opening and closing in a lavishly appointed theatre before an all-animal audience, but otherwise set amidst dusty western hills, the play sends intrepid Gracie Pearl to town in a desperate search. There she finds that evil Bigglebottom, the banker, has seized the Golden Goose, tricked Rumpelstiltskin into a violent departure, sicced his trio of bears onto Goldilocks and for good measure tied three pigs to the railroad tracks for nonpayment of housing loans. None of these figures play any significant role, however; they just act as filler until, when the banker returns to claim his due, Gracie Pearl fights back so hard that the ground cracks and up comes a “black gold” gusher. Rebuses in the text provide visual cues for hissing and cheering, but Goodell’s elaborately detailed scenes will likely be a stronger draw for young readers. A good try nonetheless, and a natural for fans of the likes of Lisa Wheeler’s operetta Seadogs (2004), “staged” by Mark Siegel. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-56145-362-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Nolen and Nelson offer a smaller, but no less gifted counterpart to Big Jabe (2000) in this new tall tale. Shortly after being born one stormy night, Rose thanks her parents, picks a name, and gathers lightning into a ball—all of which is only a harbinger of feats to come. Decked out in full cowboy gear and oozing self-confidence from every pore, Rose cuts a diminutive, but heroic figure in Nelson’s big, broad Western scenes. Though she carries a twisted iron rod as dark as her skin and ropes clouds with fencing wire, Rose overcomes her greatest challenge—a pair of rampaging twisters—not with strength, but with a lullaby her parents sang. After turning tornadoes into much-needed rain clouds, Rose rides away, “that mighty, mighty song pressing on the bull’s-eye that was set at the center of her heart.” Throughout, she shows a reflective bent that gives her more dimension than most tall-tale heroes: a doff of the Stetson to her and her creators. (author’s note) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-15-216472-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Whistle/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003
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