From Publishers Weekly
oor Grandmother keeps dispatching family members into the woods to gather enough firewood before the "long, hard winter" arrives, but instead of collecting wood, each person comes back with his or her clothes in tatters and a tale of a tussle with wild animals. Newcomer Cates follows a successful folktale formula to a T with a no-nonsense grandma and her catchy refrain. To each relative's cockamamy excuse the woman replies, "Well, that's a far-fetched story!. It's a pity but it can't be helped, and I'm afraid we'll have to burn your [garment] for firewood." Carpenter's (Fannie in the Kitchen) sprightly vintage-style watercolor-and-ink drawings conjure a faraway and long-ago setting where children freely roam the woods alone and toddlers can play safely in the yard unattended. Grandmother's facial expressions belie her patient responses. In an ingenious touch, Carpenter presents each family member's rendition of his or her animal encounter as a color transfer on white linen, embellished with machine stitching; it's a nice link to the story's conclusion, which features Grandmother working magic with a needle to keep her family warm through the winter. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
K-Gr 2-In this folktale-like story, Grandmother wants just one more armful of firewood for the winter woodpile, but the boy, girl, mother, father, and baby all come back empty-handed and with their clothing in tatters. As the five sit shivering on the bed, the old woman has a great idea. Burn the ragged clothes for heat? No, make a quilt that "kept the whole family as warm as toast and as safe as fairy tales all through the long, hard winter-." Never mind the logic of what they'll wear when they finally get out of bed-this story has just the right amount of humor to convince readers that these five sillies are in good hands with Grandmother. While most of the illustrations are done in ink line and watercolor, the family members' "far-fetched" accounts of how their clothes have been ruined have been photocopied to transfer paper and ironed onto frayed white linen, thus setting these "stories" off from the main narrative. Carpenter adds detail with machine embroidery to form a unique illustrative technique. The resulting subdued colors lend old-time heft to the pictures and expressive black lines give the skeptical Grandmother, the endearing girl offering an apple to the deer offstage, the nonplussed baby surrounded by rabbits, and others a humorous look. Whether displayed with other quilt books or with foolish folktale people, this title will circulate, and families who read it together may expect some "far-fetched" explanations in the future.
Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
