The gray vacuum that is Gravel Winter's soul will remind you of the aloof presence of Gilly in Dorp Dead, but here it is kindness more than cruelty which threatens the integrity of a boy's alienation. When his only friend abandons him, leaving the orphanage without so much as a goodbye, Gravel runs away. He flees again from Mr. Paynter, an aptly named sign painter who is willing to take him in, no questions asked, only to find himself acting out the role of a polite, solicitous orphan boy, accepting food and shelter from three old people—blind, deaf, and crippled respectively—who need him to "fill the gaps" in their lives. Then, in short order, Gravel tries to save blind Mr. Gant from being murdered by his servant, discovers that Gant has slain the servant instead, and narrowly escapes becoming the victim of Gant's blackmail. Gravel returns to Paynter, though not without a good deal of silent recrmination—"You fool. . . . Don't you know that I sold myself to the first people who were seeking a prop, that I shaped myself to please them so they wouldn't know who I was?" At times like this, Gravel is so full of his own message that you want to shake him and indeed, in the twelve years since Dorp Dead, Cunningham has acquired such baggage as symbolic roses. Yet the dichotomy between possessiveness and the bonds of trust, as acted out by the sniveling miser Gant and Paynter (last seen letting Gravel draw wings around a pair of shoes he's sketched for an ad) seems to inspire this author's best efforts; even her constricted solipsistic manner is oddly complementary to the theme.
Pub Date: March 1, 1977
ISBN: 0380403374
Page Count: 100
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1977
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
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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