Reviews: (by author)

(3 Reviews)

Osborne, Mary Pope. The Brave Little Seamstress. Illus. Giselle Potter. New York: Atheneum, 2002. $16. ISBN 0-689-84486-7.

Mary Pope Osborne's many books share a solid sense of wording and a sense of humor. Here she weaves a delightful version of "The Brave Little Tailor," the one who kills seven flies with one blow. This is a brave little lady who also swats insects and announces it in fancy embroidery. As in the male version, she is mistaken for a ferocious warrior, which she proves to be true through outsmarting her opponents.

 

Osborne, Mary Pope. Moonhorse. Illus. S.M. Saelig. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1991. $6.99. ISBN 0-679-86709-0 <br>

Mary Pope Osborne, author of the Magic Tree House Series and American Tall Tales, has created a beautiful picture book in Moonhorse. In this story, a little girl leaves the lap of her sleeping father to ride the Moonhorse through the nighttime sky. Together, the girl and her horse pass constellations including the Dipper, Scorpion, and Archer. They leap as a comet "shoots past." The two gallop and fly, using a lasso to pull the new moon to the top of the sky. The Moonhorse returns the girl safely to her porch, and she is restored to her father's lap. This is a lovely storybook for a child's bedtime. Superb illustrations by S.M. Saelig add a dreamlike quality to the book with muted colors and soft lines.

Marissa Friedman, October 2003

 

Osborne, Mary Pope. Moonhorse. Illus. S.M. Saelig. New York: Knopf, 1991. $6.99. ISBN: 0-679-86709-0.

In Moonhorse, author Mary Pope Osborne and illustrator S.M. Saelig create a magically delightful book. Osborne's poetic words and Saelig's dreamy illustrations tell of a little girl rocking on the porch with her father as evening falls. She longs to share the magic of the twilight with him but he's fallen asleep. In her loneliness she makes a with that brings her the Moonhorse. Together they lasso the new moon and pull it across the night sky facing the frightening Scorpion and Wolf constellations. After their magical ride, she hugs the Moonhorse goodbye and climbs back to her father on the porch. She wakes him in time to hear the swish of the Moonhorse's departing wings.

Osborne's story reads like poetry and, although short, is dense with the elements that appeal to a child's imagination. Children love to believe that magic is not impossible and that gentle, winged horses can appear just after Dad falls asleep. At the end of the adventure the little girl ends up in her father's arms again, forming the classic children's book format: home-away-home. This format creates a comforting ending to the adventure. Saelig's soft, dreamy illustrations reinforce the possibility of magic in the minds of young readers.

Highly recommended.
Elizabeth Klug. November '03

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