A prince marries a frog—it's a long story. It so happens that this croaker princess can outsew, outcook, and outdance the other court princesses, but only when she slips from her skin to become the beautiful Vasilia the Wise (a trick she performs when no one is watching, like Superman). Unfortunately, her husband the prince happens across her frog togs one night while she is in her Vasilia mode and burns the unwanted exterior so that his wife will remain forever radiant. Bad mistake. It turns out that Vasilia had a mere three days left to fulfill a curse her sinister father cast on her, yet now, without her skins, she will never see the prince again unless he can find her in the Kingdom beyond Blue Kingdoms. It is a long, mean search (including the obligatory visit to Baba Yaga; these days you can't throw a brick without hitting Baba Yaga in one form or another). Eventually, the prince succeeds in wresting Vasilia from the evil one. A nice gender twist on an old tale, paced to keep things moving. Spirin's illustrations command attention with detailing worthy of FabergÇ, although their fussiness can cause a visual overload. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russian tales have been thick on the ground, some better than others. This one is worth a look. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-8037-1623-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1994
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
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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