It was bound to happen in this era of feminized folk tales: a regendered version of what the blurb calls “a classic Chinese folk tale,” though the only thing this has in common with the classic is the number of protagonists. The Seven Chinese sisters live together and take care of each other and each one has a special talent. First Sister could ride a scooter fast as the wind; Second Sister knows karate; Third Sister could count to 500 and beyond; Fourth Sister could talk to dogs; Fifth Sister could catch any ball; Sixth Sister could cook the most delicious noodle soup; and the Seventh Sister—well, they don’t know yet because she is so little and hasn’t spoken one word. When a terrible dragon smells Sixth Sister’s noodle soup, he flies straight to the Sisters’ house and snatches Seventh Sister, who is crawling on the floor. She utters her first word, “HELP,” and all of the sisters use their talents to rescue her, returning home to eat the delicious soup. The dragon took Seventh Sister because he’s hungry—in fact starving—and the girls promise to return the next day with soup for him. The saturated colors of their blue dresses, green trees, and the red scooter and dragon create sufficient tension for the story and keep pace with the liveliness of the action. There’s a playfulness in the text as well as when Fourth Sister talks to the dragon in dog language. An entertaining feminist twist not to be confused with the original, this has strong female protagonists to help balance the rather strained story. (Folktale. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-8075-7309-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers.
Two little rats decide to show the world how tough they are, with unpredictable results.
Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be just like their single dad, Big Lou: tough! They know that “tough” means doing mean things to other animals, like stealing Chad Badgerton’s hat. Chad Badgerton is a big badger, so taking that hat from him proves that Louie and Ralphie are just as tough as they want to be. However, it turns out that Louie and Ralphie have just done a good deed instead of a bad one: Chad Badgerton had taken that hat from little Tiny Crawley, a mouse, so when Tiny reclaims it, they are celebrated for goodness rather than toughness. Sadly, every attempt Louie and Ralphie make at doing mean things somehow turns nice. What’s a little boy rat supposed to do to be tough? Plus, they worry about what their dad will say when he finds out how good they’ve been. But wait! Maybe their dad has some other ideas? LaReau keeps the action high and completely appropriate for readers embarking on chapter books. Each of the first six chapters features a new, failed attempt by Louie and Ralphie to be mean, and the final, seventh chapter resolves everything nicely. The humor springs from their foiled efforts and their reactions to their failures. Myers’ sprightly grayscale drawings capture action and characters and add humorous details, such as the Ratsos’ “unwelcome” mat.
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers. (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7636-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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