Claudia's review
A Big Quiet House
by Heather Forest
Nice critical review. I definitely have enough information from this to know whether I want to add it to my collecion. I also appreciated the fact that you know the story and different versions. Very helpful review.
Thanks.
Cass
Claudia's review
A Big Quiet House by Heather Forest
Claudia's review
rating:
bookshelves:
traditional-literature
(CIP) Unable to stand his overcrowded and noisy home any longer, a man goes to the wise old woman who lives nearby for advice.
(Claudia) A Jewish man in a stetl community needs help: his house is so small, crowded, and noisy. But after taking a collection of farm animals into the house, then putting them all out again, he concludes he is actually living in a big, quiet house. The narrative interspersed with rhyming sections is enjoyable. However, compressing all the action into one night makes the conclusion much less convincing than versions where one animal is added each day. Also, although the illustrations are attractively vivid and colorful, the initial pictures of the interior give such a sense of orderly spaciousness, it’s hard to believe in the man’s distress. I agree with SLJ that “collections that already have [other versions (Zemach, Cole, Hirsch):] can pass on this one.”
(Booklist) “Forest gives us a wonderful version of the old Yiddish folktale …...more
(Claudia) A Jewish man in a stetl community needs help: his house is so small, crowded, and noisy. But after taking a collection of farm animals into the house, then putting them all out again, he concludes he is actually living in a big, quiet house. The narrative interspersed with rhyming sections is enjoyable. However, compressing all the action into one night makes the conclusion much less convincing than versions where one animal is added each day. Also, although the illustrations are attractively vivid and colorful, the initial pictures of the interior give such a sense of orderly spaciousness, it’s hard to believe in the man’s distress. I agree with SLJ that “collections that already have [other versions (Zemach, Cole, Hirsch):] can pass on this one.”
(Booklist) “Forest gives us a wonderful version of the old Yiddish folktale …...more
Nice critical review. I definitely have enough information from this to know whether I want to add it to my collecion. I also appreciated the fact that you know the story and different versions. Very helpful review.
Thanks.
Cass