Drawing again from aboriginal Australia's rich folkloric heritage, Wrightson weaves a spellbinding tale about Balyet, abandoned—as punishment for a sin—to live forever alone. Jo, a 14-year-old white girl, has come with her elderly aboriginal friend, Mrs. Willet, to the hills to camp while Mrs. Willet—a powerful "Clever Woman"—tends her people's sacred sites. Jo has an ulterior motive: seeing her friend Terry, who is nearby with his brother, Lance. She chafes under Mrs. Willet's admonitions about danger in the ancient hills until Balyet appears—a voice, a wisp of fog, a shadow, a sorrow—and abducts little Kevin, whom Jo has promised to tend but forgets when Lance lures her off on his motorbike. After Kevin's narrow escape, Mrs. Willett tells Jo that Balyet's sin was loving blood brothers, who killed each another as a result; in retribution, her people left her. Though time has diminished her to a shadow, she is denied death's release. Empathizing with Balyet's grief, drawn to her as a kindred being, feeling that her punishment is cruel and unfair, Jo is almost lured to her own death before Mrs. Willet is able to reason with the ancient spirits and save both willful girls. Sorrowful, elusive Balyet is a compelling creation; the parallel with modern Jo adds depth to a story that poetically explores the characteristic Wrightson theme of interdependence and continuity among all creatures. This may be Wrightson's best yet.
Pub Date: April 1, 1989
ISBN: 0091828171
Page Count: 102
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1989
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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