The Great Corgiville Kidnapping - Hardcover

Tudor, Tasha

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316855839 ISBN 13: 9780316855839

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 1997

Synopsis

Caleb Corgi, outstanding student and part-time private investigator, senses that something is amiss in Corgiville. He has noticed a sudden increase in the number of raccoons in town. They claim they are tourists just passing through, but Caleb feels secrecy and conspiracy in the air. And when Babe, Corgiville's prize rooster, is reported kidnapped, the raccoons are overheard arguing over the best way to stuff and roast a large fowl. The town is in a frenzy! Caleb knows he must find and rescue Babe, but how?

Tasha Tudor, the revered storyteller and illustrator, has invented another story about the wonderful denizens of Corgiville. The action is brisk, the details of both text and art charming and vivid. Here is book that both adults and children will want to read and savor repeatedly.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-4. In a quaint New England village populated by an array of animals done up in jackets a la Beatrix Potter, Caleb Corgi, a dog detective, begins to feel uneasy about the large number of raccoons appearing in town. Upon investigating, he discovers that they have kidnapped Babe, the "Biggest Rooster on Earth," to cook for a feast, and he sets off to the rescue. The plot is predictable; it is the details that offer pleasure. Tudor uses colorfully descriptive language that brings richness to the story. For example, on finding a trash can "vibrating violently," Caleb taps on the lid and "a shocking volley of oaths greeted his ears." It is a trapped squirrel who tells him, "Those #*#*#* (quite unprintable) raccoons put me in it." The pictures are also a delight, moving from crowded country stores to the raccoons' dark warren and finally to a hot-air balloon drifting over the countryside. Tudor's sketchy watercolors, both small scale and panoramic spreads, draw viewers in for a closer look at all of the homey details. With its slightly longer length and a more challenging vocabulary than most picture books, this title may appeal more to older children and the lucky adults who can share it with them.?Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

A delectable companion to The Corgiville Fair (1971), in which Tudor employs conversational prose to revisit the pastoral setting and farmyard inhabitants of the original. Caleb Corgi turns determined detective with the kidnapping of Babe, ``the biggest rooster on earth who made a yearly sensation at the Corgiville Fair.'' The scoundrels in this case are rumored to be Hiram Racky and his band of evil raccoon radicals, soon to be outwitted by the well-educated Caleb himself. Complete with an old-fashioned hot-air balloon escape and the aid of Charley Crow, the story finds Babe eating amaretto biscuits on his way back to Corgiville, where a full-fledged celebration awaits. Within this rousing good guys/bad guys tale are cheeky animal characters outfitted in vests and topcoats, sophisticated humor, nods to Julia Child, Gertrude Stein, and others who will not be known to children, but Tudor's devotees will love this caper, and others will want to go unearth the first work. (Picture book. 7-10) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0316855839
• ISBN 13: 9780316855839
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48