Shepard (The Gifts of Wali Dad, 1995, etc.) tells a familiar type of tale in which a headstrong young man blunders into the stronghold of an ogre, falls in love with the beautiful servant he finds hidden away there, and performs impossible tasks with the help of the brave and clever maiden, with whom he finally escapes. It's the details of the tasks and the dangers encountered that make these stories interesting: The hero, Leif, must muck out the troll's stable with a pitchfork that makes ten forkfuls of dung fly in for every one he pitches out, bridle the troll's fire-breathing stallion, and extract taxes from the fairies without being buried alive in gold and gems. As Leif and Master Maid flee, she contrives to put a forest, a mountain, and an ocean between them and the pursuing troll, and the troll counters by calling upon the Forest Chewer, the Mountain Cruncher, and the Water Sucker. Ellison's finely textured watercolors are a mixture of the homely (sod roofs, shaggy goats, copper pots, cabbages, gooseberries) and the fantastic, all suffused with an old-fashioned, golden fairy-tale glow. (Picture book/folklore. 6-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-8037-1821-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1997
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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