Tales from Gizzard's Grill

Steig, Jeanne

ISBN 10: 0060009608 ISBN 13: 9780060009601

Publisher: Joanna Cotler, 2004

Synopsis

This book includes Three Western tales,
Complete with Sheriff, Hard as nails,
A Lonesome Cowboy, Thief, and Horse,
Conniption fits, Despair, remorse;
Two broken hearts, Miss Lou-Lou, and
Miss Lou-Lou's paw,
A snake-oil man;
A Dreadful Stranger Bustin' in,
A duel that smells
As vile as sin,
At Gizzard's Grill.
And for dessert
A slab of lemon pie Don't hurt.

About this title

About the Author:

Jeanne Steig is the author of several books of light verse and prose, including Alpha Beta Chowder; A Handful of Beans, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book; and A Gift from Zeus: Sixteen Favorite Myths, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Notable Book. Ms. Steig is also a self-taught visual artist, working almost exclusively in street finds and other discarded materials. She lives with her husband, William Steig, in Boston, Massachusetts.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-6–The Old West surfaces again in three light, verse tales from the cow town of Fiasco. Rhyming quatrains recount the adventures of a stable full of stock Western characters: a deceptively hard-boiled Law-woman ("I seem a tough old sheriff,/Two-fisted, coarse, and hard;/But beneath it all–you guessed it, boys–I'm soft as melted lard"); a lonesome cowboy; a repentant horse thief; a father/daughter traveling medicine show; a heartbroken waitress; and a stranger who loses a stinky-foot duel to ancient Myrna Poke. The tall-tale elements and gentle, preposterously tidy conclusions provide some of the fun. It's the language, however, that lends the most zip. Colorful cowpoke turns of phrase pepper the text, reinforcing character types and spicing up somewhat meandering story lines. Laid out cleanly on white pages, the text is frequently accompanied by pencil line drawings in a vaguely post-modern cartoon style. Spare, with intriguing features such as dashed lines indicating motion and direction, the art–in a sandy beige and orange desert palette–cannily incorporates details from the narrative. The slightly grotesque, long-headed figures and minimalist style heighten the silliness and tall-tale effects. A fun read-aloud, if your drawl's in working order, but not a must purchase.–Nancy Palmer, The Little School, Bellevue, WA
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About this edition

• Publisher: Joanna Cotler
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0060009608
• ISBN 13: 9780060009601
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 80
• Illustrator: Turner Sandy