The Puerto Rican folk character Juan Bobo, a.k.a. “Simple John,” who just can’t get anything right, trips over a silver lining supplied by Montes (Something’s Wicked in These Woods, p. 1287) and set in tropically festive artwork by the illustrator of Captain Bob Sets Sail (p. 640). Shooed out the door to find work and told not to put his wages in his pocket, but to carry them in his hand, Juan Bobo gets a job shelling beans. Though he manages to get even that job wrong, he is paid and promptly shoves the money into his pocket, where it falls through the holes as he walks home. The next day his mother gives him a sack in which to put his payment, but this time his reward is a bucket of milk. He does as commanded, with predictable results. Carry it home on your head next time, she tells him, not knowing his payment for sweeping the grocer’s floor will be cheese; it melts in the sun. Tie it up with string next time, she says, but the payment is a ham that Juan Bobo drags homeward, only to have it eaten by the neighborhood cats and dogs. This is Juan Bobo’s lot, but Montes is not happy with it; the fool can’t simply be a well-meaning comic figure in the tradition of Epaminondas—he ultimately has to deliver. So she adds a Goose Girl touch and works it so that Juan Bobo saves the life of a rich man’s daughter and thus food is thereafter no problem. Heroism doesn’t sit comfortably on Juan Bobo’s shoulders. His gift is that he makes us laugh, and that is more than enough. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-688-16233-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Noted storyteller Bruchac (Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving, p. 1498, etc.) teams up with his son, James (Native American Games and Stories, not reviewed) to present a pourquoi tale from the East Coast Native American tradition. Bear is undeniably big; he is also a braggart, given to walking through the forest and proclaiming his superiority to all within earshot: “I can do anything! Yes, I can!” When he hears this, little Brown Squirrel challenges Bear to tell the sun not to rise the next day. This Bear does, and when the sun does in fact rise despite his injunction not to, Brown Squirrel unwisely gloats: “Bear is foolish, the sun came up. Bear is silly, the sun came up.” Thanks to trickery, Brown Squirrel escapes with his life, but not before Bear claws the stripes into his back that cause him to change his name to Chipmunk. The Bruchacs translate the orality of the tale to written text beautifully, including dialogue that invites audience participation. Aruego and Dewey’s (Mouse in Love, p. 886, etc.) signature cartoon-like illustrations extend the humor of the text perfectly. One spread shows the faces of all the animals rejoicing in the yellow light of the newly risen sun—all except Bear, whose glower contrasts ominously with Brown Squirrel’s glee. Clever use of perspective emphasizes the difference in size between boastful Bear and his pint-sized trickster opponent. Authors’ notes precede the story, explaining the history of the tale and each teller’s relationship to it. A winner. (Picture book/folktale. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8037-2404-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
Disgusting and futile medical practices are always a pleasure to contemplate. Beccia, following closely in the spirit of The Raucous Royals (2008)—dry-witted artwork, conversational text, engaging historical detective work—asks readers to guess which “cures” may actually have helped a handful of ailments. Take a nasty cough, for example: Should you take a heaping helping of caterpillar fungus, frog soup or cherry bark? Common good sense will lead readers to wag their heads no when it comes to sprinkling mummy powder on a wound or drilling a hole in your head to relieve a headache, though some counterintuitive measures will come as a surprise success: spider web for an open wound, frog slime for a sore throat, moldy bread to treat a cut. The author provides intriguing background information on the cures—where they arose, why they were thought to be efficacious—and pulls more than one gem out of the nastiness, such as the property of silver to kill bacteria, giving birth to a familiar expression: “In the Middle Ages, wealthy-born babies sucked on silver spoons to protect against plague....” (note, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-547-22570-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010
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