A pleasingly solid retelling.
Souhami gives “The Fisherman and His Wife” a hopeful twist.
Souhami’s backmatter author’s note explains that she wanted to retell this old tale with sympathy for the characters, whom she resists depicting as they appear in other versions: “a horrible, greedy and nagging old woman” and “a weak, hen-pecked milksop.” Instead, she presents a couple worn down by poverty who are grateful when the magic fish grants their wish for “a small dry cottage…a blue teapot…[a]nd some bread and cheese in the larder.” They’re satisfied for a month before greed brings them back to the sea with grander wishes for status and material wealth. The duration of the couple’s contentment diminishes with every new wish granted, until the fish finally returns them to their initial state of poverty. But Souhami doesn’t leave them in dire straits. Instead, a closing picture shows them happily trying to net fish above text that reads, “But I hope that they caught lots of ordinary fish to sell at the market. And that they gradually became happy. What do you think?” Along with this use of direct address, expressive collage art that evokes something of Margot Zemach’s style will engage readers with depictions of the increasingly exasperated magic fish and how the couple and their home are transformed from scene to scene with their increasing wealth.
A pleasingly solid retelling. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-91095-918-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Otter-Barry
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
A boon for beaver storytimes or young naturalists living near beaver streams.
Readers learn about a keystone species and the habitat they create.
In a “House That Jack Built” style (though minus the cumulative repetition), Sonenshine introduces children to beavers. Beginning with a beaver who’s just gnawed down a willow near their lodge, the author moves on to the dam that blocks the stream and protects their domed home and then to the yearlings that are working to repair it with sticks and mud. Muskrats and a musk turtle take advantage of the safety of the beavers’ lodge, while Coyote tries (and fails) to breach it. Then the book turns to other animals that enjoy the benefits of the pond the beavers have created: goose, ducklings, heron, moose. While the beavers aren’t in all these illustrations, evidence of them is. And then suddenly a flood takes out both the dam and the beavers’ lodge. So, the beavers move upstream to find a new spot to dam and build again, coming full circle back to the beginning of the book. Hunter’s ink-and–colored pencil illustrations have a scratchy style that is well suited to the beavers’ pelts, their watery surroundings, and the other animals that share their habitat. Careful observers will be well rewarded by the tiny details. Beavers are mostly nocturnal, which isn’t always faithfully depicted by Hunter. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A boon for beaver storytimes or young naturalists living near beaver streams. (beaver facts, glossary, further resources) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1868-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good choice for a late fall storytime.
Animal behaviors change as they prepare to face the winter.
Migrate, hibernate, or tolerate. With smooth rhymes and jaunty illustrations, Salas and Gévry introduce three strategies animals use for coping with winter cold. The author’s long experience in imparting information to young readers is evident in her selection of familiar animals and in her presentation. Spread by spread she introduces her examples, preparing in fall and surviving in winter. She describes two types of migration: Hummingbirds and monarchs fly, and blue whales travel to the warmth of the south; earthworms burrow deeper into the earth. Without using technical words, she introduces four forms of hibernation—chipmunks nap and snack; bears mainly sleep; Northern wood frogs become an “icy pop,” frozen until spring; and normally solitary garter snakes snuggle together in huge masses. Those who can tolerate the winter still change behavior. Mice store food and travel in tunnels under the snow; moose grow a warmer kind of fur; the red fox dives into the snow to catch small mammals (like those mice); and humans put on warm clothes and play. The animals in the soft pastel illustrations are recognizable, more cuddly than realistic, and quite appealing; their habitats are stylized. The humans represent varied ethnicities. Each page includes two levels of text, and there’s further information in the extensive backmatter. Pair with Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen’s Winter Bees (2014).
A good choice for a late fall storytime. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2900-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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