A very pretty rendering of this difficult story. Wargin has stayed very close to the Grimms’ version: The princess does not kiss the frog at all, but throws him across the room in a fit of pique. He turns into a prince who looks a little like Joseph Fiennes. The princess, who looks a little like Scarlett Johansson on a pouty day, is bedecked in gorgeous damasks and brocades in English Renaissance–style. When she sits tossing her golden ball, she is surrounded by exquisitely drawn flowers and insects; palace food and drink, jewels and furnishings are likewise beautifully delineated. The frog himself, who rescues her ball from the well and demands to sit by her side, eat from her plate and sleep in her bed, is very froggy indeed. The Grimms’ ending, in which the prince’s faithful servant Henry’s iron bands about his chest are loosed for joy at his master’s return and marriage, is also included. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 1-58726-279-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mitten Press
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2007
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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