Stories of valiant knights slaying fearsome dragons are going to fall sadly flat after one reading of this bewitching tale from Thomas. During the long evening hours, a knight keeps watch over the kingdom while in a nearby dark cave three young dragons struggle to go to sleep. A tremendous roar hastens the knight to their cave, where he is greeted not by the requisite fierce creature spewing fire, but by a small dragon who needs a drink of water. Bewildered but good-hearted, the gentle knight fetches the water and tucks the little one into bed. Twice more he is summoned by the dragons’ plaintive wails, for stories and song; when he is summoned one last time, he finds that good-night kisses are in order. The weary but dutiful knight, exhausted from traipsing back and forth across the kingdom, finally succumbs to the sleep of the just. Plecas’s whimsical illustrations make full use of the dragons’ woeful looks and the beleaguered knight’s harried expressions; children and adults will recognize the elaborate bedtime rituals, while the brief sentences and repetition of words make this an ideal easy reader. Thomas is a consummate storyteller: the language and the rhythm of the text, along with her great sense of humor, carries readers merrily along to the conclusion. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-525-46326-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1999
Gibberish with meritless pictures. (Picture book. 5-7)
A young girl’s dream takes her on a fantastical adventure.
In what is ostensibly verse, Akley tells of a little girl who has a dream–or perhaps a metaphorical adventure or spiritual awakening–about a gold candlestick. Determined to find the meaning behind it, she embarks on a quest, along the way meeting various preachy animals in different settings. It’s clear that lessons are supposedly being taught, but what exactly that wisdom entails is lost in text that is awkward, lengthy and clichéd. Presented as prose despite the attempted verse, the story fails to generate interest. The accompanying illustrations are unpleasantly colored and amateurish; faces are distorted, and the pictures often deviate from the text. Readers will sense that the girl achieves her quest but will never understand its purpose. Akley claims the story has a basis in the Book of Revelations, but beyond the word “cross” and the possibility of an ever-present shepherd, no actual meaning–religious or secular–is decipherable.
Gibberish with meritless pictures. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: April 13, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4327-0312-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
In The Palm Of Darkness ($21.00; May 1997; 192 pp.; 0-06-018703- 4): A Cuban writers's intensely imaginative portrait of the extremities of Haitian culture rings some fresh changes on the overfamiliar theme of intellectual arrogance humbled by its collision with ``elemental'' peasant wisdom. Montero subtly builds up a revealing contrast between Victor Griggs, a European herpetologist searching for the remaining specimens of an endangered species of amphibian, and his native guide Thierry Adrien's memories of his family's encounter with the island's ubiquitous spirits. This truly original novel is studded with surprises—not least of which is the concept of a species suddenly and entirely disappearing in a milieu where the living and the dead are known to mingle together more or less matter-of-factly. A refreshingly sophisticated treat. (Author tour)
Pub Date: May 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-06-018703-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1997
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