When Chickens Grow Teeth retold from the French of Guy de Maupassant by Wendy Anderson Halperin (Orchard Books) is a good-natured tale of a big, jolly café keeper with a skinny, sour wife who raises chickens. When the husband is bedridden after a fall, Madame forces him to hatch eggs under his arms. Not dark, but prettily illustrated book.
The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean is a charming book for children or adults. The narrator's dad sits behind a newspaper and isn't all that interesting. So when a friend comes to visit with his goldfish the unnamed narrator offers his dad as a swap. Unfortunately, when mom comes home she is not happy to discover her husband gone and she sends the boy and his sister to get their dad back. This books proves that the team who created the brilliant graphic novels Violent Cases and Mr. Punch are equally at ease with children's books.
My Life with the Wave by Octavio Paz, translated and adapted by Catherine Cowen with illustrations by Mark Buehner (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard) is another charmer, this one about a boy who, entranced by the wave he meets at the seashore, decides to take her home with him and his family. From this absurdist idea Buehner creates realistic looking people and some very odd animals, as the parents (but not the boy) learn that it may not be such a great idea to try to domesticate a force of nature. Strictly for children.
To Market to Market by Anne Miranda, illustrated by Janet Stevens (Harcourt Brace & Co.) is a silly and sweet illustrated rendition of the popular children's rhyme showing a fat pig draped over a hapless shopper's cart, a duck seated on her head, and quite a menagerie once she gets them all home.
Edward Lear's Nonsense Songs illustrated by Bea Willey (McElderry Books) gives colorful interpretation to "The Owl and the Pussycat," "The Jumblies," "The Pobble Who Has No Toes," etc. to excellent effect. A must for children and collectors of illustrated books and Lear.
The Brave Little Tailor by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm pictures by Sergei Goloshapov (North-South Books) is basically a tale of deception and broken promises. You know it: a tailer kills seven flies then boasts that he "killed seven in one blow." This boast brings him trouble and adventures (he is clever) until the king of the land notices him and promises half his kingdom and a daughter if the tailor succeeds at certain tasks. The tailor does, the king and his daughter go back on their word until outwitted by the tailor once again. The illustrations are eye-popping but is this really the story you want your kids to learn from?
William Wegman's Farm Days (Hyperion) is the newest installment of the series by photographer Wegman and his wiermaraners in which the dogs play dress-up and are given human hands to very odd effect. City boy Chip visits his country relatives and learns all about farm life. Perfect for kids.
Why Lapin's Ears Are Long and Other Tales From the Louisiana Bayou adapted by Sharon Arms Doucet and illustrated by David Catrow (Orchard Books) is a collection of three stories about Lapin, (rabbit) a trickster character. Fine rendition of the folktales with a very goofy-looking Lapin doing his thing (including marrying a deer).
The Five Fingers and the Moon by Kemal Kurt and illustrated by Aljoscha Blau (North-South Books) is a clever tale about the land of Elsewhere and how its rulers solve a problem--the moon has suddenly stopped moving in the sky. The Queen's councellors recommend sending each of the five fingers of the hand to save the day since "there's nothing the five fingers of the hand can't do." Goblins, elves, and fairies populate Elsewhere and wait with baited breath for the results.
The Wild Bunch by Dee Lillegard and illustrated by Rex Barron (Putnam) is a funny and colorful book that will get any recalcitrant child to eat her veggies and fruits. Meet Long John Banana with his tough exterior that reveals a soft inside, okra, who jumps into the gumbo with the shrimp, shy mushrooms, and swell-headed citrus fruits.
Copyright (C) 1997 by Omni Publications International, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.