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Spirin, Gennady
3 Reviews
(3)
K-3
Spirin reimagines "Goldilocks" in a Renaissance setting. The spare, familiar text ("Who's been eating my porridge?...Who's been sitting in my chair?") balances the sumptuous watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations' textural detailing, a decorative style in which Spirin excels. An appended "Note About the Story" tells more about the folktale's origins.
Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin
(3)
K-3
Spirin tells of the time his young son Ilya rescued an injured crow who then became part of the family. Details in the story will appeal to the picture book audience (Martha's penchant for sitting on the artist's head while he drew, for instance). The lush art set in plentiful white space beautifully portrays a Moscow of a few decades ago.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano
(4)
K-3
Translated by Tatiana Popova.
Tsar Vasilyi sends his three sons on a quest to capture the luminous firebird. An author's note indicates that the text was "adapted from three Russian fairy tales," which may be why the narrative is dense and somewhat stilted. It is apparent that great attention was paid to design, giving each page of ornate but muted watercolor illustration a luxurious feel.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz
3 reviews
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