WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 83Review_CHILDREN’S
There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Book
Jomike Tejido. LB/Patterson, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-316-49305-5
The fairy tale goes meta in this convoluted mystery about
an “old woman” searching for her six missing children. When
she sets out into the family’s bookshelf neighborhood to find
them, her quest takes her in and out of various classic nursery
rhymes and children’s stories that involve everyone from the
three bears to Jack and Jill to Humpty Dumpty. Each character
the woman meets reports that something important of theirs
is missing, too (one of the three pigs is without a bundle of
sticks, and the Wicked Witch is missing her supper). After
the (rather predictable) culprit is revealed, the seekers reclaim
their lost treasures, and the woman’s children and partner
turn up. The detailed illustrations have a digital, cartoonlike
quality and cleverly incorporate books themselves as objects,
but arid writing (“Excuse me, Bears. Did my kids pass by
here?”) and slack plotting are never quite overcome. Ages
3–6. (Oct.)The Revenge of the Black Cat: Swiss Myths
Retold by Katja Alves, illus. by Carole Aufranc et al. NorthSouth,
$19.95 (136p) ISBN 978-3-314-10488-6
A wronged snake, toads good and bad, a stubborn girl
wearing a copper pot on her head, and a one-eyed dragon are
just a few of the memorable characters that appear in this
volume of 23 traditional Swiss folktales. The illustrations,
created by 19 Swiss artists, are by turns dreamily realistic
(“Donat in the Fairy Grotto”), painterly and eerie (“The
Woodcutter’s Good Soul”), amusingly folkloric (“The Love
Potion”), and bracingly cartoonish (“The Kindhearted Dwarfs”).
Drawn from all four language regions of Switzerland and rooted
in the local landscapes, the stories are related in a plainspoken
style: “There once was a brave farmer who lived in Muotatal.”
Morals (be kind to animals; “The Revenge of the Black Cat”),
cautionary tales (don’t stare at the neighbors; “The Spalentier”),
and legends about particular places (“The Devil’s Bridge”)
mix to offer a winsome introduction to classic Swiss stories.
Ages 4–8. (Oct.)The Mermaid in the Bathtub
Nurit Zarchi, illus. by Rutu Modan, trans. from the Hebrew by Tal
Goldfajn. Yonder, $22.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-63206-213-0
This surreal reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The
Little Mermaid” begins when Mr. Whatwilltheysay is surprised
to find “a mermaid sitting in his best armchair.” The mermaid,
called Grain-of-Sand, has blue curls, floods Whatwilltheysay’s
apartment, and sings strange songs (“The waves are high/ The
mast is crooked/ The heart is slant”). He tells her, “Half of you
is really lovely, but I could never, ever get married to a fish.”
When Grain-of-Sand leaves, taking the bathtub, after hearingWhatwilltheysay’s litany of concerns about her presence, he
slowly realizes what he has lost and goes to find her with an
umbrella in his hand, a seashell in his pocket, and a flying fish
for company. Modan’s bright, delightfully deadpan illustra-
tions, which offer a wealth of details and patterns, match the
story’s matter-of-fact absurdities and abrupt swivels in action,
helping to create a beguiling oddity for readers. Ages 5–10.
(Oct.)Thai Children’s Favorite Stories:
Fables, Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales
Marion D. Toth, illus. by Patcharee Meesukhon. Tuttle, $14.99 (64p)
ISBN 978-0-8048-3708-8
“Once upon a time a kite flew above yellow bamboo rooftops,
past green jungles, and high into the bright blue sky of
Thailand.” Princesses, a vulture king, a faithful monk, and a
foolish tiger populate traditional stories sprinkled with Thai
words and phrases (a glossary in the back offers definitions).
While the inclusion of such phrases supplies authenticity,
tales that touch on complex beliefs and practices (for example
polygamy in “There Is No Such Thing As a Secret,” or gender
roles in “How the Bay of Bangkok Came to Be”) offer little
context for readers unfamiliar with Thai culture. Meesukhon’s
illustrations, notable for their shimmering color and modern,
rounded forms, vibrantly frame the text, with its classical
fairy tale cadences—“Long ago in old Ayudhya there lived a
man named Nai Hah Tong who dreamed of turning copper
into gold.” Ages 6–10. (Aug.)Arnica, the Duck Princess
Ervin Lázár, illus. by Jaqueline Molnár, trans. from the Hungarian by
Anna Bentley. Pushkin, $16.95 (96p) ISBN 978-1-78269-220-1
“Write me a story!” So begins this madcap yarn of clever
Princess Arnica and Poor Johnny, who are cursed by the
Witch of a Hundred Faces: one must be a duck while the
other is human. Structured as a tale
being told to a child, the story swoops
and veers through Arnica and Johnny’s
quest to find the Seven-Headed Fairy,
the only one who can break the spell,
with interpolations from the listening
child and the storytelling parent: “He
did the right thing to refuse the trea-
sure, didn’t he?” “It certainly looks that
way.” Fresh, funny characters (touchy Victor Coppermine;
Tig-Tag, the misguided thief; wise King Tirunt, whose Chief
Royal Counter counts until the monarch’s anger passes)
offer much delight, as does the satisfying ending. Molnár’s
vibrant folkloric illustrations complement the tale’s whimsical
sincerity. Ages 7–10. (Aug.)Black Cats and Duck Princesses
Volumes offer fresh takes on fairy and folk tales from around the world.