The Bold Boy - Hardcover

Doyle, Malachy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763616249 ISBN 13: 9780763616243

Publisher: Candlewick, 2001

Synopsis

A playful folktale about a very bold little boy—illustrated by beloved artist Jane Ray.

One day, a bold boy entrusts an old woman to look after his pea.
But when the old woman’s speckled hen eats the pea, the bold boy declares the hen is rightfully his! What happens when the bold boy entrusts an old man to look after the speckled hen—and a curious pig frightens the hen away, and a donkey scares off the pig—where will it all end? Jane Ray’s stunning artwork illuminates Malachy Doyle’s delightful folktale for the very young.

About this title

About the Author:

Malachy Doyle grew up in Northern Ireland and now lives in Wales. He has worked in advertising and has taught secondary school. Now
a full-time writer of children’s books, he is also the author of JODY’S BEANS, illustrated by Judith Allibone.

Jane Ray is one of the most acclaimed contemporary children’s book illustrators. Her many remarkable books include THE STORY OF
THE CREATION, which won the 1992 Smarties Book Prize, and her own retellings of HANSEL AND GRETEL and THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES. Most recently, she created illustrations for FAIRY TALES by Berlie Doherty. Jane Ray has also been short-listed three times for the
Kate Greenaway Medal.

From School Library Journal:

reS-This well-designed book with playful fonts is accompanied by magical, arresting illustrations that will captivate young children. The bold boy in his red, knitted hat finds a pea. "Then he did a little dance and he sang a little song, and off he toddled." This refrain repeats throughout. He asks a woman to keep it safe, but her hen eats it, and the boy takes the hen. He then takes a pig from an old man, when the pig frightens the hen. And he rides a young girl's donkey away, when the donkey chases the pig. The woman, the old man, and the young girl find the naughty child and he has nothing until he finds-a pea. All of the action takes place on bled spreads, which are great for group viewing. Ray enhances her decorative folk-art style by using arrows, sometimes humorously. The arrows echo the circular story by starting on the front cover, traipsing through endpapers, appearing on the boy's journey, showing up on the back cover, and ultimately ending on the front. Because of its unique illustrations and playful theme, The Bold Boy will work well in storytime with Clare Beaton's There's a Cow in the Cabbage Patch (Barefoot, 2001).

Debbie Stewart, Grand Rapids Public Library, MI

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0763616249
• ISBN 13: 9780763616243
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Ray Jane