School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 4Goode continues her fine series of folklore anthologies with this excellent collection. Readers will enjoy finding familiar tales such as "The Shoemaker and the Elves," "Teeny-Tiny," and "Wiley and the Hairy Man" alongside rarer treasures such as "Anansi and the Plantains" from the West Indies and "Little Lella" from Italy. Youngsters will chuckle over "How Big-Mouth Wrestled the Giant" in which a none-too-bright braggart outsmarts an even dimmer giant. Storytellers will want to add to their repertoires the California tall tale of "Lovesick Lopez," who becomes too fond of the pigs he raises. "Three Strong Women" and "Managing Molly" star female heroines. Also included are poems by Flora Fearne, Eve Merriam, Lilian Moore, and others. Goode's signature illustrations are bright and colorful and take full advantage of the humorous aspects of each selection. Fear no nightmares from this collection. Preschoolers will enjoy hearing these tales read aloud, and older children will find them accessible. A delightful addition to enhance any collection.Jeanne Clancy Watkins, Upper Merion Township Library, King of Prussia, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Adding to her stable of stellar collections (Diane Goode's Book of Scary Stories & Songs, etc.), Goode has gathered an assortment of folktales, fairy tales and poemsfeaturing the tall and the smallunder one handsomely designed roof. In the introduction, Goode quotes her mother ("If you want to tell a good story, you have to exaggerate things") and explains that folktales are her favoritesand it shows. Some selections are familiar ("The Shoemaker and the Elves"), others are not ("Lovesick Lopez"); some star recognizable creatures (ogres and ghosts), others do not (the hairy man). From Japan to the West Indies and the British Isles, these delightful stories and snippets come from a wide range of cultures and provide a variety of fare for everything from reading aloud (the classic "Teeny-Tiny") to going to sleep (Nancy Willard's poem "Magic Story for Falling Asleep" closes the collection). Colorful illustrations run the gamut from miniature teacup-sized (in which a mouse is haunted by a tiny ghost) to swamp-sized (in which an alligator pursues a boy across the book's gutter). With this blithely spirited book, Goode has done it again... and that's no exaggeration. All ages. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Most of the tales in this collection of nine stories and eight poems come from traditional sources in Europe and the United States, with one each originating in Japan and the West Indies. The artwork highlights the difference between big and little to good effect. The giants bulge out of the borders in large illustrations, while the little people appear in smaller, more numerous pictures. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Like her previous efforts in this vein (Diane Goode's Book of Silly Stories and Songs, 1992, etc.), Goode offers a diverse, accessible, and well-rounded collection of stories about people big and small, interspersing old favorites (``The Elves and the Shoemaker,'' ``Teeny Tiny,'' etc.) with more unusual gems: the West Indian ``Anansi and the Plantains,'' the Japanese ``Three Strong Women,'' and the wryly feminist ``Managing Molly.'' The book opens with a wise introduction and closes with Nancy Willard's ``Magic Story for Falling Asleep''just the right note. Goode's expressive charactersfrom ogres to elvesare priceless, and the elegant design gives the stories and poems their due. It's a thoughtfully organized book, suitable for almost any folklore collection. (Folklore. 5-10)
Booklist Review
Ages 5^-9. Goode returns with another attractive, enjoyable anthology of folktales, fairy tales, and poetry. The theme of these stories is the triumph of a small but clever hero over a gigantic adversary. There are familiar stories, such as "The Elves and the Shoemaker" and "The Teeny Tiny Woman," as well as less well known charmers such as the Italian "Little Lella." By including such artfully honed yarns as the West Indian "Anansi and the Plantains" and the African American favorite, "Wiley and the Hairy Man," compiler Lucia Monfried, employing a liberal definition of the subject, brings an inclusive flavor to the work--and Goode's elegant watercolors bring it all together, her appealing cartoon-style art displaying a penchant for the compelling contrast between big and small. --Julie Corsaro
