A fairy godmother who is slightly hard of hearing wreaks arithmetic havoc in this original fairy tale from Babbitt (Ouch!, 1998, etc.). Elsie’s mother says that she has been behaving well—“she didn’t always do what she should, before.” But the fairy godmother hears, “she should be four,” and with a whisk of her wand, Elsie immediately becomes four Elsies. Elsie’s horrified father cries, “No, wait!,” and the fairy godmother turns the four Elsies into eight, and flies away. Chaos ensues, as all the Elsies fight over what was once just right for one Elsie, and when “it was time for bed, Papa and Mama couldn’t keep track of which Elsies they had hugged and which they hadn’t.” The quarreling among the eight Elsies becomes so great that the entire family is run out of town, until they meet the fairy godmother, who, with the help of the cat, restores the family to their proper number—well, almost. The illustrations are done in muted watercolors, and depict an old-fashioned fairy-tale village located in some northern European landscape. The fairy godmother herself is black in her features, but not otherwise culturally distinct. The real stars of the story are the Elsies, who scowl, shout, quarrel, and make mischief with octupled abandon. While the illustrations are quite nice in composition and background, many of the figures and facial expressions are static, resulting in a sometimes awkward look to the paintings. Still, the slyness with which Babbitt captures the Elsies’ many moods compensates, and moreover, the concept of a suddenly multiplied self, with its many advantages and disadvantages, is sure to appeal to youngsters. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7868-0900-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2001
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
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way.
A young boy sees things a little differently than others.
Noah can see patterns in the dust when it sparkles in the sunlight. And if he puts his nose to the ground, he can smell the “green tang of the ants in the grass.” His most favorite thing of all, however, is to read. Noah has endless curiosity about how and why things work. Books open the door to those answers. But there is one question the books do not explain. When the wind comes whistling by, where does it go? Noah decides to find out. In a chase that has a slight element of danger—wind, after all, is unpredictable—Noah runs down streets, across bridges, near a highway, until the wind lifts him off his feet. Cowman’s gusty wisps show each stream of air turning a different jewel tone, swirling all around. The ribbons gently bring Noah home, setting him down under the same thinking tree where he began. Did it really happen? Worthington’s sensitive exploration leaves readers with their own set of questions and perhaps gratitude for all types of perspective. An author’s note mentions children on the autism spectrum but widens to include all who feel a little different.
An invitation to wonder, imagine and look at everything (humans included) in a new way. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60554-356-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Redleaf Lane
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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