This tale tells of how a crabby old woman was transformed into, if not the epitome of sweetness, at least a pleasingly tart character, while a delight in language is evident everywhere throughout the book. Griselda is the crab's name. She lives alone and is known far and wide as having a tongue that smote its victims like a bullwhip. Of the Lord Mayor: “A donkey on two legs is still a donkey.” Of her neighbors: “At least my words are not all vine and no fruit.” Still, her loneliness hurts, but there was nothing for it until Griselda curbed her grumping. “Her tongue had nettled too many for too long. Even the village priest left her out of his prayers.” One night, an old woman wearing a lovely kerchief knocks on her door and asks for shelter. Griselda grudgingly complies and is given the scarf the next morning in return. She is told the scarf is magic, but will hear none of it. Yet, as she makes her rounds in town, ready to berate all and sundry, nothing but kind words pass her lips: “Your kind compliment is nearly as delicious as your bread,” or “My aches and pains vanish when I meet an old friend.” People are astounded by the change (as is Griselda, who can’t believe what she is saying, and is none too happy about it), but they are ready to accept her into their lives. And when they come to pay visits the next day, Griselda greets them with warmth and politeness, even though she has lost the scarf. She still finds time for a little sass—of the mayor helping her gather eggs: “Two heads are better than one. Even if one is a cabbagehead.” The antique turns of phrase sound like music when read aloud, and who can say the message is not a good one to repeat: It’s as easy to be wickedly funny as wickedly mean. Litzinger’s artwork, with its pastel shades, lovely patterning, and homespun characters, is an added bonus (The Old Woman and Her Pig, 1993). (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2000
ISBN: 0-8234-1473-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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