Shepard (Master Man, 2001, etc.) retells an old Finnish tale about a very unusual way of choosing a very unusual bride. Two brothers are old enough to marry and their father reminds them that in family custom, they each must cut down a tree and follow where it points. Now, the older brother knows how to fell a tree so it falls where he wants, and he sets it toward his sweetheart’s farm. But the younger brother, Mikko, has no sweetheart and his tree points to the forest. Deep in the woods he finds a cottage and inside a mouse, who stands on her hind legs and tells him she’d be glad to be his sweetheart, and then sings him a little song. The next day, the father sends his sons to bring back cloth woven by their sweethearts—in Shepard’s version there is no demand for exceptional quality. Mikko’s mouse lets him nap, while an army of her fellow mice weave fine linen that fits into a nutshell. Mikko’s father, dazzled by the cloth, sets the next day for the weddings. When Mikko’s bride drives up in her tiny nutshell drawn by rats, Mikko’s brother, seeing only rodents, kicks them all into the stream. But when Mikko looks up, a beautiful princess in a mouse-colored gown of pearly velvet appears, her enchantment broken. The language is bright and cheery throughout, with the kind of repetition children, and storytellers, love and Shepard offers a reader’s theatre script on his Web site. Gore’s (The Secret of the Great Houdini, p. 876, etc.) paintings have the velvety texture of their pastel and acrylic medium in deep blues and greens; Finnish-inspired borders decorate textiles and some of the page edges. Prettily told, with sweet lessons about love and trust, no matter how odd the circumstances. (music notation, source notes) (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-9)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-689-82912-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2002
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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