megram - Index

megram - 55NovOttawa - Index

November/December 2008 • 27 • Fifty-Five Plus Magazine
The Three Snow Bears
By Jan Brett
(Putnam, $20)
Jan Brett and her husband travelled
by dog team to Frobisher Bay to research
her Arctic version of The Three Bears.
It’s a virtual tour of Nunavut as Aloo-ki
(aka Goldilocks), separated from her
huskies, takes refuge in the giant igloo of
the Snow Bears. She samples their soup
(not porridge) and tries out their boots
and sleeping benches “piled high with fur
covers.”As usual, Brett’s generous borders
are filled with the activities of ravens,
crows, hares, wolves, and seals — all in
sumptuous embroidered Arctic gear. It’s
enough to make one decide to head
North for Christmas shopping.
The Crocodile Blues
By Coleman Polhemus
(Candlewick, $21.00)
Sounds — Crack, crack, squeak,
thump, zoom — forward the plot of this
virtually wordless story about an amiable
character and his companionable cockatoo
who share an apartment in what
resembles a retro New York.Dramatic digital
illustrations in a palette limited to
bright yellow, blue and black, with touches
of white grey, keep one uncoupling
the foldout pages of all shapes and sizes.
What will happen next? Hint: Be careful
what kind of mysterious egg you bring
into the house.
Middle Readers
A Princess, A Pirate, and One
Wild Brother
By Cornelia Funke
Illustrated by Kerstin Meyer
(Chicken House, $22.99)
The three stories in this collection
include a medieval frolic and a sea-faring
romp with a feisty princess and ferocious
red-headed (naturally) Pirate Girl. It’s
light-hearted feminism with an added
twist. Just to even things up, there’s a
“lion-hearted and strong” brother who
valiantly protects his sister from assorted
monsters, moldy green ghosts and wild