These tasty tales have Aesopean flavor with Southern spiciness. While each of this wonderful storyteller’s eight stories indicates its specific origins, many edify while some are simply entertaining. In “The Golly Whumper,” while the tongue is having fun with cadence, Aunt Molly is depending on her friends the animals to help her escape the witchy Golly Whumper (unripe gourd) that is chasing her about trying to whump her. The reader learns that one good turn deserves another. “Waiting for BooZoo,” however, is “Wait ’Til Martin Comes” in a new version of the spinetingler about a brave stranger who, hoping to earn $1,000, tries to spend the night in an old haunted house. All he has to do is face the monster cat and break its spell. The story builds in suspense and nobody can blame the stranger for finally losing his nerve. In the title story creatures big and small make a deal with a poisonous vine, which has inadvertently been infecting the people, in which they take on its poison, but also acquire markings that warn the humans of their venom. Reneaux’s last story ends with the quote, “Respect earth’s creatures, and you will repay their gift, and help to saved the animals just as they once save the people.” It is the late Reneaux’s gift that her wonderful way with words comes through on these pages, leaving us with the spirit of her voice. Ransome radiantly illuminates these tales with lush watercolors that paint touchably realistic animals with a dash of humanity in their expressive faces and bits of clothing. Every single page is a joy to read. (glossary, sources, bibliography of stories and recordings) (Folktales. 5-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-16253-3
Page Count: 64
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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