Review by Booklist Review
Ages 5^-8. What begins as a cheerful tale of naughtiness based on a Korean folktale (no notes are included) ends with a rather startling surprise. Crisp, exaggerated, rather sophisticated artwork, somewhat reminiscent of Lane Smith's style, depicts a pair of ebullient, contrary frogs, who refuse even to croak correctly. Their long-suffering mother knows that the best way to get them to obey is to request the opposite of what she wants. A problem arises, however, when her sons decide, in deference to their mother's memory, to follow her deathbed instructions to the letter. The story seems somewhat unbalanced--funny at the start, almost gloomy at the close, notwithstanding the legacy the frog children leave behind: "in Korea, children who don't listen to their mother are called chung-gaeguri or green frogs." But the artwork is dynamic--from the initial, lively double-page spreads depicting the antics of the naughty duo to the subdued illustrations of the tearful brothers begging the stream not to wash their mother's grave away. --Stephanie Zvirin
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Two frog brothers always do the opposite of what their mother asks, until she dies and, in a final irony, they obey her wishes. "This Korean folktale is so beguilingly retold and visualized with such individuality that it deserves a wide audience," PW said. Ages 4-8. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
(Picture Book) Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand. Coyote is not immune to admiration. When his People ask him in flattering terms to get Fire for them, his chest puffs out and he promises to think of a plan. In fact, he steals a plan from his two shape-changing sisters (traveling with him that day as huckleberries in his stomach) that requires a relay race of cooperative animals, notably Squirrel, whose tail is permanently curled by the heat of the Fire Stick, and Frog, whose tail is forevermore removed by the pursuing evil spirits. The plan works perfectly, except that Fire is swallowed by a tree at the end of the long chase. But crafty Coyote is equal to this challenge; he teaches his People to rub wood together to make sparks to start a fire. A well-told story with inventive oil and oil pastel illustrations of the sturdy People, the helpful animals, and the serio-comic evil spirits, green and bulbous. Accenting all are the sharp portraits of the scrawny yet supple trickster hero, prancing with admiration for himself. Good notes by reteller and illustrator are appended. a.a.f. H Yumi Heo, Reteller-Illustrator The Green Frogs (Picture Book) Two little green frogs have fun disobeying their mother. Whenever she asks them to do something, they always do just the opposite. They stay in bed when she calls them to get up; they croak loudly when she asks them to keep quiet; and they don't gulp down their soup until she says, "don't eat!" It doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize this story's instant child appeal. Heo adds to the fun with her unique illustrations, similar in style to those in The Rabbit's Escape (Holt). Using delicate tones, flat perspectives, and somewhat abstract figures set against busy backgrounds, she creates a quaint, comic effect. The tale ends with an ironic twist, when the frogs' dying mother, finally catching on, asks to be buried by the stream instead of on the sunny side of the hill, where she would prefer. Remorseful, her two sons obey her last request, only to fear ever after that her grave will be washed away, which is the reason that to this day frogs cry by the side of streams whenever it rains. This is a quirkier pourquoi tale than most, but it's too mischievous to be morbid. The jacket flap says the story is one Heo recalls from childhood; no further sources are given. n.v. Margaret Hodges, Reteller Molly Limbo (Picture Book) Illustrated by Elizabeth Miles. This is an entertaining tale, told with flair and illustrated with fey delicacy. The conflict is straightforward: a miser, suitably named Mr. Means, buys a haunted house because "the price was right." It is also dirty, impelling him to hire the poor widow next door, Mrs. Handy, as housekeeper. Like her employer, she is not afraid of the resident ghost, Molly Limbo, once a pirate's wife, but she does observe that the house is more than she can handle in a day. Molly Limbo comes to the rescue with impeccable housekeeping skills and a knack for baking. Is Mr. Means grateful? Yes and no, for he regards this as an opportunity made for cheapskates and dismisses the unfortunate Mrs. Handy. But Molly Limbo, not to be denied a chance at human companionship after years of living in an abandoned house, finds a way to change his mind and his miserly ways as well, weaving all elements into a satisfactory conclusion. Although based on traditional sources, as indicated in a prefatory author's note, this adaptation reflects the touch of a true storyteller with its lilting phrases and narrative pace. It also demonstrates understanding of the separate but equal roles of illustrator and narrator, for the text outlines the action and introduces the characters while the pictures, abundantly detailed, provide the descriptive elements. The choice of background, a trompe l'oeil reproduction of ancient parchment, suggests that this is a very old tale indeed and heightens the sense of wonder. m.m.b. Charlotte Huck, Reteller Toads and Diamonds (Picture Book) Illustrated by Anita Lobel. Renée lives with her widowed stepmother and her stepsister, Francine. Francine and her mother are as haughty, selfish, and demanding as Renée is kind. Renée's kindness to those she encounters is rewarded by an old woman who endows her with flowers and jewels, which, "as long as there is a need for it," will drop from her lips when she speaks. Francine's unkind actions also result in what she deserves: toads and snakes that spew from her mouth for every word she utters. Huck's capable retelling of this familiar story is based on an early French version found in a Perrault collection. Her author's note explains her alterations to the story and that she "tried to make Renée a resourceful character rather than the stereotypical helpless female of many fairy tales." Big, bold watercolor and gouache paintings place the tale in a lushly textured, richly colored countryside. The portraits of Renée are gracefully rustic; the nasty relations are satisfyingly blowzy; the gift-giver has her mystery given its entire due in a magnificent picture of her many guises - rabbit, bird, woman. This is some of Anita Lobel's best work, each picture in close harmony with the text to move quickly to a satisfying conclusion: Renée shown at her light-filled wedding to her golden-haired prince, the stepsister retired to a dismal cave to spew her venom, apparently forever. m.b.s. Jane Kurtz, Reteller Miro in the Kingdom of the Sun (Picture Book) Illustrated by David Frampton. An ancient Inca folktale is given a dramatic interpretation in this handsome picture book. Set in Peru in the days before the Spanish conquistadors, the story incorporates a number of familiar motifs, including the mysterious illness of a king's son, the recommendation that only water from an enchanted lake will heal him, and the quest for that curative, the successful completion of which guarantees glory and fortune. In a remote village, two brothers, particularly swift runners, decide to try their luck. Failing to find the lake at the pachap cuchun cuchun, one of the corners of the earth, they substitute water from another and are subsequently jailed for their deception. Here the story departs from the usual, for it is their younger sister, Miro, who braves the unknown and triumphs, thanks to her long-standing friendship with the birds and animals. The ending - Miro's decision to embrace freedom rather than live as a daughter in the Sun King's palace - adds an unexpected if unfolkloric fillip, giving the character more personality than is typical for this genre. A brief author's note indicates the source of the story and also comments on the development of the main character into a memorable hero. With its use of action verbs and concrete images, the text lends itself to reading aloud; the bold, vigorous woodcuts, employing stylistic elements from the Inca tradition, are show-stoppers, particularly in the double-page renditions of the menacing creatures who stand between Miro and her goal. m.m.b. Frances Minters Sleepless Beauty (Picture Book) Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. A modern variation on "Sleeping Beauty," written in bouncy if occasionally ragged verse, and setting the scene in a contemporary big city. The baby, called Little Beauty by her parents, is given a birthday party, and, perilously, the neighborhood witch is excluded from the invitation list. The witch, arriving nonetheless, casts her time-honored curse, but is persuaded to modify it to the prediction, "a great rock star will wake up Sleeping Beauty." The usual kerfuffle follows, with knives, pins, needles, and sharp pencils, etc., all eliminated from Beauty's life to the extreme inconvenience of the whole family. The witch turns up, as advertised, on Beauty's fourteenth birthday - but Beauty has planned ahead. The story is longish but a nice twist on the original, and the illustrations - with contorted perspectives of the fashionably cadav-erous witch, the very New York-ish scene with a jazz musician on hand making appropriate musical comments, and our perky heroine - are splendidly suited to the off-beat tale. a.a.f. Iona Opie, Editor My Very First Mother Goose (Picture Book) Illustrated by Rosemary Wells. What can be said about yet another Mother Goose book? Quite a lot in this case. The book is not a definitive Mother Goose, with familiar rhymes such as Old Mother Hubbard missing and less familiar ones included, and there are no footnotes or sources. But as a first Mother Goose, the book does its job superbly. Sixty-eight rhymes have been selected with parents, babies, and toddlers firmly in mind. The book is oversized yet perfect for lap holding, and the rhymes are attractively placed on each page and nicely placed throughout the book so as not to overwhelm parents and babies with too many images and too much black type. Central to the success of the book are Rosemary Wells's illustrations. The orange-gold cover shows Mother Goose as a large, white, cap-bedecked goose standing on a blue-checkered border that will attract parents and grandparents who may remember Blanche Fisher Wright's edition from their own childhoods. Riding on Mother Goose's back, however, are four of Wells's signature animals - a gray kitten, brown bear, black rabbit, and tiny tan mouse - looking hopefully at the viewer in invitation and anticipation. The checkered border is picked up throughout the book to provide a nice cohesion. The first rhyme is an appropriately familiar "Jack and Jill," and the final "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, / Hold my horse till I leap on," provides a quiet good night. Unlike some editions of Mother Goose that crowd many rhymes within the pages, these rhymes are leisurely paced. While some human characters appear, Well's lively animals are the most well delineated and appealing. A tiny mouse under the Queen's chair sticks its tongue out at Pussycat; an elegant hog rides home from market in an open limousine. Throughout the book familiar characters reappear to connect the rhymes and give parents and babies more chances to interact with the pictures. We know that the interaction that takes place between parent and baby over the pages of a good book is a primary factor in literacy learning, and My Very First Mother Goose makes such important work pure joy. barbara kiefer Steve Sanfield Just Rewards, or, Who Is That Man in the Moon and What's He Doing Up There Anyway? (Picture Book) Illustrated by Emily Lisker. When a kind, gentle man nurses an injured sparrow back to health, the bird rewards him with a seed. Upon harvesting the watermelons that grow from the seed, he discovers that they are full of gold, silver, and jewels. His neighbor, jealous of the man's good fortune, decides to do the same. But he's a nasty man, and impatient to boot, so he shoots down a sparrow to nurse, all the while reminding it of the reward that is his just due. The seed he receives produces a vine that grows up to the moon. When the man climbs it, he cannot get back and so remains there to this day. Sanfield's smooth telling of this tale (apparently a free adaptation from Chinese folklore) flows easily, making it a good choice for a beginning storyteller. The bright oil paintings feature simple compositions with a minimum of detail, while the strong facial expressions on the main characters clearly distinguish between the good and evil natures of the men. Pair with Toads and Diamonds (see Huck, p. 750) for some cross-cultural wisdom on the consequences of greed. n.v. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
From a Korean folktale, the story of two frogs who always do the opposite of what their mother tells them. When it's time to wake up, they don't; when it's time to eat duckweed soup, they won't; when it's time to clean up, they make a mess; when it's time to be quiet, they start croaking. Their mother's dying wish is expressed carefully: So that she will be buried on the sunny side of the hill, she purposely asks her sons to bury her in the shade by the stream. Regretful of their past behavior, the sons obey her wish, which is why each time the stream threatens to flood her grave, they sit by the waters and weep. It's also why naughty children in Korea are called ``green frogs.'' Heo (Father's Rubber Shoes?, 1995) provides a gleefully fatalistic retelling, but the writing is surprisingly wooden. The magnificently eccentric illustrations, full of tortured proportions and twisted perspectives, depict three ungainly frogs surrounded by a bizarre variety of bugs, plants, wallpaper patterns, and little squiggles, all in an idiosyncratic palette of grimy green mixed with beige, pink, and blue. (Picture book/folklore. 4-7)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
