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Williams, Marcia
5 Reviews
(2)
4-6
Williams adapts eight fables from Indian folklore; each tale leads, satisfyingly, to its just conclusion--and to a wisdom that transcends the stories' seemingly simple events. Well-told in narrative captions, the tales are much enhanced by comically informal remarks in speech balloons. Williams's ebullient gouache illustrations are in jewel-like tones of Indian art. A grand introduction to these venerable stories.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2012
(4)
4-6
A selection of Egyptian myths and stories (and even some history, though it's hard to distinguish) are retold in accessible, humorous text. Comic panels help contain the tales, with the illustrations applying a cartoon aesthetic to ancient Egyptian art styles. A running story line following a cat's adventures provides additional levity (but doesn't add much to the stories themselves).
Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo
(2)
4-6
Williams adapts nine tales, each presented in comic-strip-style panels. A chorus provides running commentary, unobtrusively allowing the author to braid Chaucer's storytelling contest into her retelling. The bright cartoons make the most of Chaucer's bawdiness, exaggerating physical faults and reveling in potty humor. The straightforward telling reflects an oral style and allows the illustrations to carry both narrative suspense and humor.
Reviewer: Vicky Smith
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2007
(4)
4-6
Williams presents eleven familiar stories from the Old Testament in a comic-book format. Each double-page spread has so much going on--including angels hovering along the borders, providing commentary on the action--that it can be difficult to focus on the content of the stories. However, young readers will appreciate having accurate retellings presented in such an amusing and energetic manner.
Reviewer: Anne St. John
(3)
4-6
Employing a comic-strip format, Williams distills five Dickens classics--Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, and A Christmas Carol--with spirit and verve. Her smooth, lighthearted retellings run beneath wittily drawn picture panels that incorporate dialogue from the original books.
Reviewer: Carolyn Shute
5 reviews
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