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Watts, Bernadette
8 Reviews
(4)
K-3
An orphan drummer boy gives the gift of music to the newborn king. This version of the Nativity story isn't set in Bethlehem, however, but in what looks like a Germanic village in winter. The snow-dusted landscape in a pastel palette evokes a picturesque scene, but the winter setting for the well-known story seems incongruous. Information about the Grimm brothers is mistakenly appended.
Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay
(4)
K-3
"She is a master in choosing a palette to fit each story," Eric Carle observes in his brief introduction. Readers can decide for themselves if they agree: the eponymous collection gathers folktales, fables, Andersen tales, and more. Each of these previously published stories has been redesigned to fit on fewer pages; the number of illustrations for each is, by necessity, greatly reduced as well.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn
(4)
K-3
When Little Jack Rabbit and his friends venture out to a distant cabbage field, a snowstorm takes them by surprise. Luckily, a lonely scarecrow gives them shelter overnight, leading to a new friendship. The lush, detailed illustrations for this wordy story show the passing seasons and offer entertaining glimpses of animals going about their business.
Reviewer: Martha Sibert
(4)
K-3
Anthropomorphic snowflakes choose where to land during the first snowfall of the season. The smallest one frets until it settles in an artist's window box. There it happily spends the winter until it "melted away with joy" when spring comes. Watts's watercolor illustrations are evocative of the seasons. The text, though lyrical, has little child appeal.
Reviewer: Amy Kellman
(4)
K-3
In this simple, somewhat stilted retelling, Watts effectively communicates the moral: even the small can help the strong, and the strong can return the favor. The soft, busy, childlike illustrations of jungle scenes complement the story adequately, and young listeners may enjoy identifying the various animals.
(4)
K-3
This new volume about postman Harvey Hare provides an innocuous addition to the holiday bookshelf. All of the forest animals help Harvey in his mail delivery duties, first making a basket for the numerous Christmas cards and gifts, then constructing a cart, and finally building a sled. Detailed, if somewhat bland, illustrations portray wintry woodland scenes.
Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt
(4)
K-3
After the town mouse and country mouse trade visits, each decides she likes her own place best. Watts provides a comfortable, extended retelling of the familiar fable, complete with interesting visual details of each mouse's home. However, the dangerous predators of other versions are not included here, and the resulting story is somewhat bland.
Reviewer: Martha Sibert
(3)
K-3
Published spring 1998. When this endearing mail carrier delivers his own birthday party invitations to his woodland friends, they are too engrossed in other important activities to express excitement about Harvey's upcoming fete. The worried hare returns home, however, to a surprise celebration, where the animals feast, dance, and sing in Harvey's garden. The cheerful illustrations provide many details for young readers to pore over.
Reviewer: Sheryl Lee Saunders
8 reviews
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