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(2)
4-6
In this rip-roaring turn-of-the-twentieth-century adventure, twelve-year-old Cissy Sissney and two of her classmates visit their beloved former teacher, whose acting troupe has taken up residence on a rundown steamboat. Villains emerge, hijinks ensue, and Cissy and friends save the day. The ensemble cast brims with quirky, original characterization in this warmhearted paean to the tall tales of the American West.
Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2011
(2)
4-6
McCaughrean's yarn is a wildly improbable but thoroughly entertaining one. Pepper Roux's aunt has predicted that he will not live past his fourteenth birthday. When the dreaded day arrives and Pepper finds himself very much alive, he embarks on a madcap adventure in an effort to cheat death. A picaresque tale from one of the more remarkable novelists writing for children.
Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2010
(1)
YA
Fourteen-year-old Sym loves a polar explorer named Titus who lives in her head. From this premise McCaughrean builds a page-turning survival thriller, as Sym and her eccentric uncle Victor join a polar expedition. What makes the book stand out is Sym's unique personality; her relationship with Titus; the slow revelation of Victor's malevolence; and McCaughrean's inspired wordplay and powerful imagery.
310 pp.
| McElderry
| October, 2006
|
TradeISBN 1-4169-1808-6$17.99
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
Scott Fischer.
In McCaughrean's authorized virtuoso new Peter Pan story, the densely patterned adventures unfold in a headlong rush. Barrie's old story is knit into the new, and backstories are revealed. What makes this book worth savoring is the rhythmically perfect prose, each sentence metrically balanced--deliciously edible. McCaughrean's is an exquisitely rendered, magical return to Neverland.
Reviewer: Lissa Paul
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2007
114 pp.
| Harcourt
| October, 2006
|
TradeISBN 0-15-205805-2$16.00
(2)
YA
The renowned verse play Cyrano de Bergerac is retold in witty prose well suited to Cyrano's heady brew of comedy, tragedy, and heartbreaking romance. McCaughrean, like dramatist Edmond Rostand (and protagonist Cyrano), is a master of ebullient wordplay. She adapts freely, excising and adding details yet always honoring the spirit of Rostand's tale and its seventeenth-century French milieu.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2006
32 pp.
| Hyperion
| October, 2006
|
TradeISBN 1-4231-0344-0$16.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Fabian Negrin.
After his son Jesus's birth, Joseph worries about being a father to God--the Father of all men. At the end of his long internal monologue, Joseph decides that all he can offer Jesus is a helping hand. Although new parents may empathize with Joseph's sense of helplessness, there is little for children here. Negrin's ethereal paintings are appropriately luminous.
120 pp.
| Random
| October, 2006
|
TradeISBN 0-375-83640-3$14.95
|
LibraryISBN 0-375-93640-8$16.99
(4)
4-6
Illustrated by
Ian McCaughrean.
After his plane crashes, a photographer is found by two children who take him to their village. His camera first frightens then delights the community of locals, who help him decide what to photograph (black-and-white drawings serve as stand-ins for the photographs). The ambiguous ending leaves readers wondering whether the village was real or imagined.
96 pp.
| Eerdmans
| September, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-8028-5262-9$$18.00
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
David Parkins
&
David Parkins.
In this version of the epic, the mythic strongman, whose unrestrained vigor in building his city makes him more tyrant than hero, battles with Enkidu, a "wild man" who signifies the natural, uncivilized world. The two become friends and join in heroic adventures. There are fascinating echoes of stories from many traditions in this venerable root story. Parkins's illustrations capture the epic's primitive power and universal emotions.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2003
(2)
4-6
When the homesteaders of Florence, Oklahoma, rebuff the Red Rock Railroad's offer to buy out their claims, the president of the company resolves that the train will never stop there. The citizens then set up a series of roadblocks (both literal and figurative) that they hope will stop the iron horse. The fast-paced novel features colorful characters and a memorable portrait of American frontier life circa 1893.
Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2003
104 pp.
| Cricket
| June, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-8126-2684-2$$15.95
(3)
4-6
Illustrated by
Patricia D. Ludlow.
Setting her tale in ancient Egypt during the reign of Ahkenaten, who tried to replace Egypt's numerous gods with one sun god, McCaughrean weaves a suspenseful story of a son who believes in the new god and his conflict with a father who believes in the old ones. Ludlow's illustrations, except for the distracting human figures, add to the well-told story by supplying visual flavor.
(2)
YA
The thirteenth-century Chinese practice of using kites to test the wind is spliced into the later Japanese invention of man-carrying reconnaissance kites. Escaping his vicious great-uncle, Haoyou, twelve, joins a circus, performing death-defying kite flights and ever-more-novel feats. In addition to a grand array of colorful characters, skillful plotting, hair-raising suspense, and vivid details all help bring this adventure to life.
32 pp.
| Viking
| October, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-670-03588-2$$15.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Paul Howard.
In a story reminiscent of a folktale, three children are all challenged to fill the barn using just one penny. The brightest child, aptly named Penny, fills the barn with music from a banjo she purchased for a penny from a junk shop, earning a laugh out of their dour father. The lively story is stronger than the illustrations, in which the father's expression is the same when he is being mean-spirited and when he is genuinely pleased.
32 pp.
| Clarion
| September, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-618-21695-2$$15.00
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Stephen Lambert.
Grandmother's handsome hall clock doesn't run. No problem: "I can count seconds by the beating of my heart.... A minute is how long it takes to think a thought and put it into words." As the day progresses, she and her granddaughter explore ever-lengthening extensions of the idea. This simple introduction to the concept of time is lyrical and imaginative. The luminous paintings feature gently rendered figures in a seaside landscape.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2003
112 pp.
| McElderry
| March, 2001
|
TradeISBN 0-689-83015-7$$21.00
(4)
4-6
Illustrated by
Sophy Williams.
The stories of how the moon and sun came to be, how the big bear and the little bear were placed in the stars, and how Orion was killed by Scorpio are retold in this volume illustrated with plentiful color vignettes (but no star maps). McCaughrean takes tales from every part of the globe and stamps them with her signature mix of poetic language and slight playfulness.
96 pp.
| Oxford
| July, 2000
|
TradeISBN 0-19-278115-4$$19.95
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Ruby Green.
McCaughrean retells twelve traditional stories, including "Little Red Riding Hood," "Goldilocks," and "The Golden Goose." Her retellings include details left out of many picture-book versions: e.g., Red Riding Hood's grandmother sews stones in the wolf's belly to fool him into thinking that he still has two people inside of him. Though the small, delicate illustrations look dated, the prose reads well.
32 pp.
| Carolrhoda
| October, 2000
|
TradeISBN 1-57505-491-4$$15.95
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Gary Blythe.
Paired with a traditional retelling of the famous story, Blythe's contemporary-looking artwork seems out of place, although the black-and-white sketches and large color illustrations are technically proficient and interesting in design. The plot does not always flow smoothly, but McCaughrean provides some lovely descriptions of the Beast's palace.
32 pp.
| Holiday
| September, 2000
|
TradeISBN 0-8234-1562-7$$16.95
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Heather Holland.
The original reindeer doesn't like the "crown" of antlers the Maker assigns her (they look "like a lopped tree"). But generations later, antlers save the day when Santa's sleigh, pulled by reindeer, nearly falls through the ice. The book's title is misleading--this is really the story of how reindeer came to value their antlers--but the tale is fresh and the mural-like watercolor illustrations exquisite.
231 pp.
| HarperCollins
| May, 2000
|
TradeISBN 0-06-028765-9$$15.95
|
LibraryISBN 0-06-028766-7$$15.89
(2)
4-6
Young Phelim Green finds himself cast as the reluctant hero as the classic foursome of Hero, Fool, Maiden, and Horse set out to save the land from the Hatchlings of the Stoor Worm. With lyrical language, pieces of old songs and poetry, and wondrous imagery, McCaughrean has created a story of amazing depth and breadth.
Reviewer: Martha Walke
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2000
138 pp.
| McElderry
| May, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-689-82266-9$$20.00
(3)
4-6
Illustrated by
Bee Willey.
Like The Golden Hoard, The Silver Treasure, and The Bronze Cauldron by the same author-illustrator team, this volume provides an attractive grab bag of stories. Willey's mixed-media artwork illustrates McCaughrean's competent retellings of tales from Australia, Siberia, Ghana, Greece, India, and many more countries and cultures. Brief source notes are included.
32 pp.
| Carolrhoda
| October, 1999
|
TradeISBN 1-57505-415-9$$15.95
(2)
K-3
Illustrated by
Moira Kemp.
A master reteller recounts the familiar Russian tale in which a little girl escapes Baba Yaga with the help of a rag doll, the last gift of her dying mother. The well-paced narrative is rich in imagery and humor. Kemp's colored pencil illustrations are rendered with accessibly childlike simplicity, but she also uses sophisticated composition and perspectives to enhance the drama. A prime pick for storyhour.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2000
23 reviews
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