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The Devil & Mother Crump
The Devil meets his match in a feisty old baker woman who tricks him into granting her three very strange wishes
- GenresFictionPicture Books
40 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 25, 2024
A terribly stingy and mean baker woman named Mother Crump goes up against the Devil and wins in this original fairy-tale from author Valerie Scho Carey and illustrator Arnold Lobel. Gaining notoriety due to her unkind ways, Mother Crump comes to the attention of the Devil, who visits her, and after a few confrontations, grants her three wishes. These wishes—that anyone who looks in her flour barrel will be trapped inside, that anyone who touches her dough will be stuck fast to it, and that anyone who interferes with her birch tree will become stuck in its branches—prove useful when the Devil sends his minions to drag her down to Hell. Left in peace after defeating the Devil, Mother Crump eventually tires of life, only to find that neither Heaven nor Hell will accept her. Unfortunately for the denizens of those places however, our eponymous anti-heroine is determined to do exactly as she pleases...
Like Carey's subsequent Tsugele's Broom , which I happened to read before this one, The Devil & Mother Crump is an original story in the folktale model, and is reminiscent of other tales I have read, in which the Devil is outwitted, and a hero is not welcome in either Heaven or Hell. Regarding the latter, I was reminded of the African American folktale Big Sixteen , retold by Mary Calhoun and Trina Schart Hyman, and published three years before this one. Publishers Weekly compared Carey's book to Natalie Babbitt's The Devil's Storybook in their review, but not having read that title, I couldn't say whether I agreed or not. In any case, I did find this one humorous and engaging, and thought the artwork from Lobel—a childhood favorite of mine, due to my love for his Frog and Toad books—was wonderful. I don't know that I would strongly recommend this one, although those who admire Lobel, or who are looking for original folktales/fairy-tales about outwitting the Devil, might want to give it a try.
Like Carey's subsequent Tsugele's Broom , which I happened to read before this one, The Devil & Mother Crump is an original story in the folktale model, and is reminiscent of other tales I have read, in which the Devil is outwitted, and a hero is not welcome in either Heaven or Hell. Regarding the latter, I was reminded of the African American folktale Big Sixteen , retold by Mary Calhoun and Trina Schart Hyman, and published three years before this one. Publishers Weekly compared Carey's book to Natalie Babbitt's The Devil's Storybook in their review, but not having read that title, I couldn't say whether I agreed or not. In any case, I did find this one humorous and engaging, and thought the artwork from Lobel—a childhood favorite of mine, due to my love for his Frog and Toad books—was wonderful. I don't know that I would strongly recommend this one, although those who admire Lobel, or who are looking for original folktales/fairy-tales about outwitting the Devil, might want to give it a try.
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March 13, 2016for my students?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews