Reviews: (by author)

Sierra, Judy. Can You Guess My Name? Traditional Tales Around the World. Illus. Stefano Vitale. New York: Clarion Books, 2002. $20.00. ISBN 0-618-13328-3. 110 pp.

Can You Guess My Name? is a wonderful collection of variations on folktales told throughout the world. Judy Sierra selects five well-known tales that every child is familiar with such as "The Three Pigs" or "Hansel and Gretel" and contrasts these stories with other versions told in such countries as South Africa or even United States: Scottish American culture. Relying on a child's knowledge of tales, Sierra provides a based onto which the reader can explore different cultures similarities and differences by comparing beginnings and ends with missing and added elements.

The illustration created by Stefano Vitale is simply beautiful. Each story is decorated with the sense of old world style and cultural flavor. Vitale's technique opens the imagination by allowing the individual a visual tool into other culture's perspectives.

Can You Guess My Name? is a great companion to Mother Goose tales, providing another comparative aspect to the folktale published library. It was great fun to discover the differences between cultures.

Highly Recommended
Dawn Brophy, March 2004.

 

Sierra, Judy. Monster Goose. Illus. Jack E. Davis. San Diego: Gulliver Books/ Harcourt, INC, 2001.  $16.00. ISBN 0-15-202034-9. 56pp.

Monster Goose is wonderfully delightful for children between five and eight.   This book is filled with hysterical poetic twists guaranteed to tickle their funny bone.   When Mother Goose meets the 21st century by searching her laptop for rhymes, she finds that things are a bit screwy.   Judy Sierra delightfully twists old classics into modern day Halloween humor.   For example, Mary has a vampire bat and together they get a week of school canceled, or Little Miss Mummy with a spider in her tummy; then my favorite being Rub-A-Dub-Dub piranhas in my tub.   Monster Goose is a comical twist on old themes revamped to satisfy kid's love for gore and grotesque and the illustrations by Jack Davis add to the comical fun essence of this book.

Recommended
Dawn Brophy, May 2004

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