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DOESN'T FALL OFF HIS HORSE

Name: DOESN'T FALL OFF HIS HORSE
Author: Virginia A. Stroud
ISBN: 0-8037-1634-6

by Virginia A. Stroud & illustrated by Virginia A. Stroud ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1994

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Saygee's great-grandfather is nearly a hundred years old, and when she comes upon him staring out the window of his room, he tells her the story of his Kiowa Indian name, ``Doesn't Fall Off His Horse.'' It is the tale of a raid he and a friend made on a neighboring Comanche camp to steal some ponies and to ``make a coup,'' which he tells Saygee ``is like a game of tag—a very serious and dangerous game that we played to embarrass and show dishonor to the enemy tribes.'' Saygee's great-grandfather is shot in the neck by a Comanche bullet during the coup, but he doesn't fall off his horse, hence his name. He makes it back to camp and is nursed back to health. An aura of sadness hangs over this well-told story, which is as much about what it's like to grow old and look back at one's youth as it is about Kiowa traditions. Stroud, a Cherokee who was adopted into a Kiowa family, writes beautifully about her adoptive family, and her colorful paintings provide a vibrant backdrop for this unusual book. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-8037-1634-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1994

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE STORY OF THE MILKY WAY
by Joseph Bruchac & Gayle Ross & illustrated by Virginia A. Stroud

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GOONEY BIRD GREENE

by Lois Lowry & illustrated by Middy Thomas ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2002

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Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class announcing: “I’m your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything.” Everything about her is unusual and mysterious—her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince’s palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are “absolutely true.” Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher’s lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of “how a story is made” titles. Gooney Bird’s stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children’s fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-618-23848-4

Page Count: 96

Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
TREE. TABLE. BOOK.
by Lois Lowry

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WINDEBY PUZZLE
by Lois Lowry ; illustrated by Jonathan Stroh

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WILLOUGHBYS RETURN
by Lois Lowry

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RIVER STORY

by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Bee Willey ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2000

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Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)