It’s a reprint of a 1995 book. It’s a reinvention of a Russian folk tale set in a Santa Fe context. Maybe I would feel differently if I was more familiar with either the original tale or the current setting, but to me it felt a bit clunky. I’m not sure how much appeal it will have beyond the Southwest, or Russian communities. It describes a girl looking for lost sheep who encounters a local witch all the children have been warned about, who eventually escapes because the witch likes the taste of naughty children and she’s too sweet. But the resolution doesn’t seem especially connected to the other details of the story.
Author Archives: Courtney Morgan
Impossible Moon
It begins with a girl’s description of her Grana as one who once told the best stories, but who is now too weak to tell stories, and Grana’s question that if we can touch the moon, what is impossible. At bedtime the girl ponders Grana’s question as she gazes at the moon and feels compelled to pursue the impossible. What follows is a fanciful adventure in which she launches herself from her bed into the night sky and pursues several adventures with the characters of the constellations on her way to try to touch the moon. She misses her mark, and finds herself falling sleepily back to earth, now with stories of her own to tell, along with the confidence to continue to pursue the impossible. The illustrations are beautiful and suit the imaginative nature of the tale.
Wondering Around
If one reads the title too quickly you might think it’s about wandering around, and in a way it is, but really it’s about seeking wonder in one’s wandering. It’s written in a rather poetical style, and has a beauty to it, both in text and illustrations. The illustrations are soft and rather muted, and almost seem to have a vintage look to them. It might appeal more to adults who appreciate the wonder of childhood than to the children it’s targeting.
Pages of Music
It’s a republication of a book from the 80s. The illustrations are classic dePaola, and the story is very much in line with other familiar dePaola books: it takes place in the Italian countryside and offers subtle ties to the Christian Christmas story. It tells of a boy who visits a poor island as a child and is so impressed with the generosity and joy of music that he experiences there, that when he grows up to become a famous composer, he returned to the island with a full orchestra to share a Christmas concert he’d composed just for them. It’s a nice story, but not sure it’s going to resonate with a wide audience of children.
Wellington’s Big Day Out
I really like this one. The illustrations are absolutely charming. The story addresses a theme so common among young kids — the wish to be bigger in a hurry. On Wellington’s fifth birthday he’s determined to be more grown up. He’s excited to get a coat like his dad’s as a present, but he’s disappointed that it’s too big for him. On the way to the tailor (where his dad gets his own clothes altered), he’s excited when the bus driver tells him he’s old enough now that he has to pay for his ride. When they tailor’s not in, he and his dad pass the time at the music store and the ice cream parlor, but Wellington is disappointed that he can’t quite keep up with his dad. By the time they stop to visit his granddad, he’s decided it’s not that his jacket is too big, but that he’s too small. When his granddad measures him against the wall, he is amazed to see he’s the exact same size his dad was at his age. Encouraged, he’s willing to wait until he grows into his new jacket.
This Book Is Not for You!
My one gripe with this book is that I find the character of the substitute librarian completely unbelievable, because I can’t imagine any librarian taking his attitude. Still, I know many other adults who do hold such ideas, and who often pass such attitudes to young readers, though perhaps more subtly than does the character in the book. The story tells of a boy visiting a book mobile only to be confronted by a librarian who tells him all the books he wants to read aren’t for him, trying to channel him into his own narrow idea of what is appropriate reading for him. The boy accepts what is offered him, but then subverts the efforts of the narrow-minded librarian by reading under a nearby tree where other patrons are reading (a girl, a robot, a cat, etc), and trading books with the girl who’s reading the book he wanted to read in the first place. When a dinosaur shows up and scares the librarian into giving him the book he wants, regardless of his own opinions, the young boy learns to find his own voice and insist on getting what he wants. The story takes things to the extreme to make the point about those more subtle attitudes.
The Little Butterfly that Could
The bright, cheerful, silly illustrations will draw readers in to read about the message of perseverance and believing in oneself to tackle a big job. It tells of a butterfly lost on in the ocean partway through his seasonal migration. Much of the book is a conversation between him and whale giving him a pep talk. When he finds out he’s got 200 miles to go things seem daunting, and he comes up with all sorts of excuses and protests, but the whale convinces him to believe in himself and keep trying, and eventually he finds his friends, just it time to learn about going dormant for the winter.
Puppy Bus
It’s cute. It’s about a boy who’s not excited about the first day of school, but then when he gets on the bus, he realizes he got on the wrong bus. All the other passengers are puppies, and he finds himself at puppy school. Though he doesn’t speak Bark, he goes along with things and finds himself having a rather good day, learning how to play fetch and dig and howl. The next day he’s all excited to return, but this time finds himself on a bus filled with kitties.
Star Fishing
I love the illustrations! They are sweet and fanciful, and very suited to the bedtime story this is. It tells of a child who cannot sleep, but finds a dangling star that invites him to the moon to play with a little rabbit who can’t sleep either. They keep wondering if they are the only ones who can’t sleep, but every time they cast their star line down, they real in another animal who can’t sleep, until the whole gang discovers that the stars aren’t sleepy either. After a fun night of playing among the stars they worry about little rabbit being alone again when they leave, so they create constellations to remind her of her friends, crab, big bear, little bear, fox, and rabbit before being sent off to sleep once more. I confess, as an adult reader, I was a bit disappointed in the simplicity of the plot, I wanted more to happen, but I don’t think the young children who are the target audience will care. They enjoy a story more through their hearts than their heads.
Bravo, Bucket Head!
The Lester-Munsinger duo have teamed up again to share the story of shy Mousetta, who is so shy she walks backward and hides within her parents’ clothes or wherever else she can, feeling mousey next to her cool, gorgeous, awesome field mates. The only way she can work up the courage to attend a workshop that promises to make her feel more outgoing is to wear a bucket on her head. At the workshop she is joined by Lampshade Head, Wastebasket Head, and Blankey Head, but before instruction can begin an emergency alarm warns of foxes in the area, and even the instructor takes cover, hiding in a garbage bin. Realizing that someone better do something if they’re not to end up as fox food, Mousetta tries three times to get enough oomph into her voice to get the others to join hands and charge the foxes.
Scared by the aliens with strange heads and backwards feet, the foxes flee, and Mousetta discovers that her equally shy classmates were none other than the mice she envied, who apparently also feel shy at times. Mousetta is finally comfortable enough in her own fur to lead the parade in celebration of her team’s triumph over the foxes.