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THE THREE SILLY GIRLS GRUBB

Name: THE THREE SILLY GIRLS GRUBB
Author: John Hassett
ISBN: 0-618-14183-9

by John Hassett & Ann Hassett & illustrated by John Hassett & Ann Hassett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 30, 2002

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Those three Billy goats have been transformed into young girls and the troll morphed into a mean boy in this retelling of the classic folktale. When the three Grubb sisters, sized small, medium, and extra large, miss the bus one day, they must walk to school . . . over a bridge where Ugly-Boy Bobby hides out every day. He never goes to school or ties his shoes, he eats bugs and worms, and he often throws things. As each skipping Grubb passes over, he demands to know who is crossing. They sweetly answer, also telling him what they will learn in school that day—to count to ten on their toes, to spell “bumblebee’s bottom,” and to look at tiny things under a microscope. Bobby threatens to eat the girls’ lunches, but the small and medium-sized Grubbs each tell him to wait for the next bigger sister—she has more jelly donuts with her. Now, the extra large offers quite nicely to share, but the condition she sets is not acceptable to Ugly-Boy Bobby, who runs off to school and never misses a day again. The Hassetts (Cat Up a Tree, 1998, etc.) have created a gentler tale with this retelling—no one is threatened with being eaten, the girls and the “troll” are both people with whom children can identify, and the meanie gets rehabilitated. Soft colors, animals, and plants abound in the cartoon illustrations and the round faces of the characters are especially good for expressing emotions. Snip, snap, snout, a good turnabout. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2002

ISBN: 0-618-14183-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
BOB'S ROCK
by Ann Hassett & John Hassett ; illustrated by Ann Hassett & John Hassett

- BOOK REVIEW
GOODNIGHT BOB
by Ann Hassett & John Hassett ; illustrated by John Hassett

- BOOK REVIEW
COME BACK, BEN
by Ann Hassett ; John Hassett ; illustrated by Ann Hassett ; John Hassett

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A DOG NAMED SAM

by Janice Boland & illustrated by G. Brian Karas ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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HOME

by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2015

Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.

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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)