THE FUNNY LITTLE WOMAN

by Arlene Mosel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 6, 1972

As always Blair Lent rises well above the demands of the storyteller's occasion, creating here a distinctly Japanese but consummately imaginative setting for the tale of a little woman whose pursuit of a rice dumpling lands her in the damp and eerie underground lair of the wicked oni, who force her to stay and cook for them. When she tries to escape by boat the oni drink up all the water in their river -- but the woman looks so funny trying to run through the mud that they laugh, and ""all the water fell from their mouths back into the river."" This image of the bloated and spluttering monsters, overcome by laughter, provides a welcome note of levity that is echoed in Lent's fanged and three-eyed oni, and the oni-like gargoyles that adorn their profane pagodas add further grotesque dimension to this subterranean land of beautifully grotesque Wild Things. Throughout the book the woman's descent and return are kept in subtle perspective by small, outlying black and white scenes from the home she has left. Though the colors are essentially the same Lent achieves stunningly contrasting effects in the mossy, mottled, glowing greens of the oni's watery world and the radiant, rain nourished loveliness of the little woman's garden which blooms with color upon her homecoming.

Pub Date: Oct. 6, 1972

ISBN: 0140547533

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1972

Categories: CHILDREN'S