A bland rendition, without much sense of the popular story’s usual course or cultural milieu.
In this reworked folk tale, clever Ganesha disguises himself as a shepherd boy to keep an evil king from becoming even more dangerously powerful.
Related in lumbering rhyme and blocky cartoon illustrations, the episode is not only abbreviated, but robbed of features that might have increased its appeal to young readers. Described as a ferocious, many-headed demon king in the Ramayana (for instance) but depicted here as a hunky but conventional, pale-skinned villain with a Snidely Whiplash mustache, Ravana sets out to secure a stone promised by Shiva that will give its bearer immortality and great power. Shiva reluctantly hands it over, with the proviso that once it touches the ground it will be forever immovable. Commenting “I know, he has his evil plans / to take over the world, / and capture all lands,” the elephant-headed Ganesha transforms himself into a lad and volunteers to hold the stone for a count of three while Ravana rests and prays (or in other versions, pees). As if. Down the stone drops, “…and Ravana’s dreams of fame and glory, / are gone forever. That’s the end of this story.” In traditional versions the end isn’t quite so abrupt, and the “stone” is actually a lingam or sacred phallus that is here only a glowing, egg-shaped crystal—though at least it does assume an elongated shape in the final scene. A small sheet of stickers and step-by-step instructions for drawing the portly blue pachyderm are appended.
A bland rendition, without much sense of the popular story’s usual course or cultural milieu. (Graphic folk tale. 5-8.)Pub Date: June 7, 2016
ISBN: 978-93-81182-24-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Campfire
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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