Whuppity Stoorie - Hardcover

Preston McDaniels is a music lover who enjoys playing the piano. The books he has illustrated for children include The Prince of Ireland and the Three Magic Stallions, Retold by Bryce Milligan. His illustrations for this book were called "graceful" and "humorous" in a starred Booklist review and "evocative" by School Library Journal. He lives in rural Nebraska.

Kindergarten-Grade 3--A poor "goodwife," deserted by her husband and left with a baby to care for, hopes for a good litter of piglets. When her sow becomes deathly ill, she foolishly promises "anything your ladyship likes" to an old woman who says she can cure the animal. After the healing is complete, the stranger reveals that she is a fairy, and insists on taking young Robert unless his mother can guess her name before three days pass. At first distraught, the goodwife overhears the fairy's name while walking through the woods and sends her packing when she comes to claim the child. Stewig includes extensive notes on the history of this Scottish variant of "Rumpelstiltskin" and the ways in which he has adapted it. Unfortunately, the book is marred by the choice of an archaic-style font that may add atmosphere but would be difficult if not impossible for emergent readers to decipher, particularly as many of the words (dinna, ahind, etc.) will also be unfamiliar. McDaniels's watercolor illustrations, with their pale colors and humorous cartoon scenes, are at odds with the predominately darker aspects of the story. Carolyn White's Whuppity Stoorie(Putnam, 1997; o.p.) is a more readable and visually appealing version of this tale.--Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.