- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Ltd. (July 26 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0789426366
- ISBN-13: 978-0789426369
- Product Dimensions: 26.3 x 24.2 x 1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 463 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #850,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
DeFelice and Parker (previously paired for The Dancing Skeleton) join forces again, this time to polish up a Scottish ghost story. When ragged, penniless Willie McPhee, "the finest bagpipe player in all of Scotland," stumbles across a dead man in the forest one snowy night, he helps himself to the boots. Unfortunately the man's feet come with them, snapping off when Willie tugs on the frozen legs. But "a poor man must be practical, after all," and Willie carries off the boots (and feet). Later he decides to play a trick on a heartless farmer who grudgingly sends him to the barn when he asks for shelter: Willie arranges the now-thawed feet to make it appear that their cow has eaten him. The horrified farmer and his wife quickly bury the evidence, but when Willie comes out of hiding and pipes a farewell tune atop the "wee small grave," they flee, thinking him a ghost. In the end, a bona fide ghost does appearDto Willie. DeFelice pitches this deliciously eerie tale in the kind of cadence and language that make for a grand read-aloud (e.g., the near-shoeless Willie goes "flip-flap, flip-flap, flip-flap down the road"), and she neatly preserves the regional flavor ("Och! They were fine-looking boots, they were!"). Beautifully set off by the understated book design, Parker's watercolors rank with his finest. The blotted impressionistic colors and scrawled lines are both edgy and amusing, while the cool gray tones create an appropriately chilly backdrop for the spooky antics. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-This ghost story for the strong of stomach features a bagpiper by the name of Willie McPhee. Hard times have forced him to seek a place where people can afford his entertainment. Months pass. His boots are "more holes than leather." Alone, hungry, and tired, he trips on what he soon realizes is the frozen body of a man whose boots are too fine to leave behind. He can't remove them until he drops the man's leg, which then snaps in two. Carrying the boots (and feet within them) tied around his neck, Willie seeks shelter on a farm, only to be told by the inhospitable owner to sleep in the barn with the cow. In the morning, Willie plays a trick on his mean-spirited host and places one foot in the cow's mouth, the other beside her. The shocked farmer quickly buries the feet, and when Willie reappears to play his pipes on the grave, the man and his wife take off, never to be seen again. Later that night, as Willie enjoys the cozy warmth of the farmhouse, a footless stranger appears at the door. So ends the tale. DeFelice's language, tone, and pacing capture the essence of the oral tradition while Parker's dark and stylized watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations reflect the playfully somber mood of the story. This is a yarn meant to amuse as well as frighten, and it succeeds at both.
Alicia Eames, New York City Public Schools
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Alicia Eames, New York City Public Schools
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
homeschooling mom,
By A Customer
This review is from: Cold Feet (Hardcover)
We found this book at the library and my seven year old son loved it! We read it during the day and as soon as my husband came home from work my son insisted he sit down and read it with him. A week later my son asked to take the book over to his friends house because he had told him the story and his friend wanted to see the book also. How great! My five year old daughter also was fascinated with the story and refered back to it several times in a positive manner. I had worried also that it might be too scary for the kids but instead it is a story that has intrigued them and definitely one they will remember.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Even 3rd graders may not be ready??,
By
This review is from: Cold Feet (Hardcover)
This scared the wits out of my son after it was read to him in the school library. I am sure it's a wonderfully scary book for the older crowd, but if my 8 year old is scared, maybe it shouldn't be marketed to third graders unless it comes with a nightlight.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Too weird for my five year old,
By itsmatt (Spotsylvania, VA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Cold Feet (Hardcover)
My son excels as a reader and checked this out on one of his preschool trips to the library. It is definitely for older kids, maybe seven or eight. He didn't understand the plot very well and trying to explain it to him proved to be... interesting. I would suggest steering clear of this if your child is 5 or younger.
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