"Big Billy Goat Gruff put his head down and charged at the troll, butting him so hard that he flew up into the air and then down into the middle of the river.
The Troll was never seen again, and the billy goats got so fat eating grass on the far side of the river that they were scarcely able to walk home again."
This collection is a wonder! Lucy Cousins has written eight favorite fairy tales for our youngest listeners, and she has done a marvellous job of it.
In an interview about the upcoming publication for this book, Lucy says:
"These tales are traditionally very gory and shocking, so I was faced with finding a way to make them work for the Maisy age group. I approached it through using very simple text. By keeping it short I could help readers not to dwell. I kept the illustrations loose and gutsy to reflect the stories, giving them a bit more edge than the Maisy books. The illustrations themselves are very far from realism, and I think children can accept that this is a parallel universe and not their own. "
In Yummy, she does just what she set out to do...tell these traditional tales with big pictures and in shortened form. It is a book that can be read a story at a time to the very youngest, but a collection that would garner rapt attention from a slightly older audience for the whole shebang. And, they might even ask for a second reading!
She didn't write a syrupy sweet version of these old tales...they have all the 'blood and guts' of the originals. Grandma is still dinner for the greedy and big-toothed wolf. Big Billy Goat treats the troll abominably. The little red hen doesn't share her delcious bread and makes no excuses for it. The wolf makes a delicious stew for the third little pig. There is good and bad in each tale told, and something dire happens before it is happily resolved.
Some are less familiar but worthy of inclusion...The Bremen Town Musicians has always held a special place in my heart. I love how the rooster droops with the same intensity as the flowers that share his space, and the robber who gets his comeuppance from the cat's claws, the dog's teeth, the donkey's hooves and the screeching of the rooster. No wonder that motley crew ran for cover!
Read it with a little one...you won't be sorry!
No comments:
Post a Comment