A drily entertaining version of the tale of the simpleton and his golden goose. Whoever touches the goose sticks to it, but the simpleton doesn't notice and wanders into a city where a king has issued a proclamation that anyone who can make his daughter laugh can marry her. The simpleton immediately heads for the palace, followed by a stuck chain of people and this parade makes the princess laugh. Then there is one more ordeal, which the simpleton easily carries out. Deadpan humor enlivens the telling, written in a style that is so elliptical as to make it read as if something were missing. The most prominent feature of the illustrations are the exaggerated and rigid outlines of angular characters and impossibly wobbly houses. Shulevitz (The Secret Room, 1993, etc.) achieves his strongest effects by putting the jagged, colored figures against white backgrounds. He deliberately creates dissonance between text and pictures, and the success of this varies from page to page: Several tableaux of trains of characters behind the oblivious simpleton are perfect in timing and delivery, but offer no clue as to why everyone comes unstuck. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-374-32695-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1995
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
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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