Drummer Hoff
By: Barbara Emberley
Illustrated by: Ed Emberley
Medal Winner
Reviewed by: Sandy Hall
Recommended age: Ages 4-8
Also read and recommended by: Sherry Early
Ed and Barbara Emberley teamed up again in this delightful book. The story develops step by step, with those of ascending order of military rank adding another part to the cannon being built. Each step rhymes: Private Parriage brought the carriage, Corporal Farrell brought the barrel, Sergeant Chowder brought the powder, Captain Bammer brought the rammer, Major Scott brought the shot, and General Border gave the order. But Drummer Hoff fired it off. The lowly drummer had the privilege! The illustrations are done in woodcuts, typical of the Emberleys' art, and brightly colored. This book with its repetitious rhyming text and colorful illustrations has been a favorite with children for many decades.
The Emperor and the Kite
By: Jane Yolen
Illustrated by: Ed Young
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
Princess Djeow Seow, youngest and smallest daughter of the Emperor, is not thought of very much by her family—when thought of at all. So she spends her days playing with a kite made from paper and sticks.
When the Emperor is captured and imprisoned in a high tower, though, it is Djeow Seow who patiently weaves a long, strong rope of her own hair, attaches it to the tail of her kite, and cleverly flies it up to her father in hopes of rescuing him.
Ed Young's brilliant full-color illustrations, which are based on an intricate traditional Oriental papercut technique, grace this tale by renowned storyteller Jane Yolen. Told in an easy-to-read yet sensitive and poetic style, it evokes the long-ago and far-away flavor of ancient China. At the heart of the story are the timeless qualities of love and loyalty.
From the dust jacket of the 1988 Philomel reprint edition
Frederick
By: Leo Lionni
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
Like the cricket who fiddled and sang the summer away with never a thought for the winter, Frederick dreamed the lazy summer away while the rest of the chatty field mice gathered corn and nuts.
But, unlike the cricket who was sent away to starve by the ant, Frederick saves his friends from the long, cold winter, and proves beyond any doubt that he had indeed done his share.
"Each book by Leo Lionni is a surprise" (Saturday Review), and FREDERICK, with its fresh, color-filled pages, is no exception.
From the dust jacket
Seashore Story
By: Taro Yashima
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
What does it mean?
Why did Urashima stay away so long?
Why did only smoke come out of the beautiful box?
The children had been listening to the ancient tale of the Japanese fisherman who went away on a turtle's back and lived for a long, long time in a beautiful palace under the sea. Now the breeze from far over the ocean blew their questioning voices into the sky, and there were no real answers. But each child was wondering, and thinking his own thoughts.
In a book of touching beauty Taro Yashima has told a legend full of wonder for every child who reads it. It has the ageless tranquility of its setting—"the quietness of ancient times is there, just as it always was."
From the dust jacket
