PLB 0-375-90319-4 Waters’s retelling of this tale feels overly precious and disjointed, with the figure of the Christ child made curiously heavy by its artless inclusion. As those familiar with the story know, the giant is a big lout who returns to his paradisiacal garden after an extended absence to find it overrun with children having the time of their lives. He can’t stand their noise, so he boots them out and builds a wall. Spring comes to the garden late that year, and only arrives in the company of the children, plus one special child. That child brings with him the warmth of the sun and the joys of the season, and for that the giant is grateful; he is woebegone when that child, of all the children, does not return to the grounds—at least not until it is time for the giant to ascend into the child’s garden, Paradise. Negrin’s stylized paintings, with elaborate fabrics, elongated forms, and sculptured landscapes, are studied but arresting. They are unhampered by the stiff storytelling, which never makes clear the giant’s change of heart: from walling the children out to missing their laughter. (Picture book. 6-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-375-80319-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
PLB 0-688-13166-2 King Midas And The Golden Touch ($16.00; PLB $15.63; Apr.; 32 pp.; 0-688-13165-4; PLB 0-688-13166-2): The familiar tale of King Midas gets the golden touch in the hands of Craft and Craft (Cupid and Psyche, 1996). The author takes her inspiration from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s retelling, capturing the essence of the tale with the use of pithy dialogue and colorful description. Enchanting in their own right, the illustrations summon the Middle Ages as a setting, and incorporate colors so lavish that when they are lost to the uniform gold spurred by King Midas’s touch, the point of the story is further burnished. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-13165-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Lunge-Larsen and Preus debut with this story of a flower that blooms for the first time to commemorate the uncommon courage of a girl who saves her people from illness. The girl, an Ojibwe of the northern woodlands, knows she must journey to the next village to get the healing herb, mash-ki- ki, for her people, who have all fallen ill. After lining her moccasins with rabbit fur, she braves a raging snowstorm and crosses a dark frozen lake to reach the village. Then, rather than wait for morning, she sets out for home while the villagers sleep. When she loses her moccasins in the deep snow, her bare feet are cut by icy shards, and bleed with every step until she reaches her home. The next spring beautiful lady slippers bloom from the place where her moccasins were lost, and from every spot her injured feet touched. Drawing on Ojibwe sources, the authors of this fluid retelling have peppered the tale with native words and have used traditional elements, e.g., giving voice to the forces of nature. The accompanying watercolors, with flowing lines, jewel tones, and decorative motifs, give stately credence to the story’s iconic aspects. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-90512-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999
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