An intriguing, beautifully honed allegory concerning Jacob, known by his actions as kind, honest, even smart—yet lazy: ``I don't like to work,'' says he. ``I like to do as I please, to...lie in the grass watching the clouds.'' Still, he finds enough odd jobs to support himself, and one day a mysterious stranger offers him the easiest of tasks: to care for his potted plant for a florin a day, but ``You must return to me all that is mine. If you don't, you will rue the day you were born.'' Soon there emerges from the plant's feathery fronds an entrancing miniature panther that is Jacob's particular companion even after dozens more buds give birth to tiny cats—ocelots, jaguars, cougars—that settle comfortably into his home. When the old man returns, the cats swarm up his clothes and into his pockets—all save the panther, which (in the best outwitting-the-devil tradition) remains with Jacob. Gore, a recent immigrant from the former Soviet Union, makes his US debut with stunning b&w illustrations in ink and acrylic: evanescent, suggestive, with the sinuous cats almost one with their shadowy backgrounds, a dreamlike aura recalling Keeping's brooding art for Garfield's The Wedding Ghost (1986), subtly dramatic characterizations, and, in the end, a sly touch of whimsical humor (this stranger, after all, reveals a benign side). An elegant piece of bookmaking; an enchanting, simple-seeming tale that contrasts provocatively with Aiken's The Shoemaker's Boy (above). (Fiction/Young reader. 6+)
Pub Date: July 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-395-66897-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1994
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For the 90's, a handsome, well-documented collection of stories about nine uniquely American characters. In her intelligent introduction, Osborne explains their genesis ``from various combinations of historical fact, the storytelling of ordinary people, and the imagination of professional writers'' and notes that changing times put a new light on stories deriding various groups (including women and even animals). Thus her intention is to emphasize ``gargantuan physical courage and absurd humor'' and to ``bring out the vulnerable and compassionate side'' despite the stories' ``ineradicable taint of violence.'' Osborne succeeds pretty well in her intention, piecing together stories that make fine introductions to characters like Mose and Stormalong. Her approach suits Johnny Appleseed and John Henry better than it does Davy Crockett battling a panther, but she does manage to put a new slant on Pecos Bill and his bouncing bride without undermining the story (there's no question of a wife's disobedience here; Sue wants to ride Bill's horse as a test of skill). The telling is more polished than lively—Glen Rounds's irrepressible wit (Ol' Paul, the Mighty Logger, 1949) is more fun, but these versions are perfectly acceptable. McCurdy's vigorous wood engravings, tinted with lucid color, contribute a rugged frontier flavor; lively, though a bit formal in style, they suit the text admirably. Each story is introduced by source notes; a story-by-story bibliography provides a good roundup of this popular genre. (Folklore. 6-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-679-80089-1
Page Count: 116
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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