Tsugele's Broom - Hardcover

Carey, Valerie Scho

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060209860 ISBN 13: 9780060209865

Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 1993

Synopsis

Despite the urgings of her well-meaning parents, a self-sufficient Polish girl insists she'll never marry unless she meets a man who is as reliable as her broom

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Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 4-- Quick-witted, capable Tsugele frustrates her parents and the matchmaker's efforts to find her a husband. Only when she finds a man who is as helpful and reliable as her broom will she marry, she declares with finality. Predictably, the suitors are impossible dolts. When Tsugele dreams that her broom turns into a man, it foreshadows events. Her broom disappears simultaneously with the appearance of a stranger with wiry, straw-colored hair. The wise girl decides, "If eggs become chickens, and peach stones become trees, why couldn't a broom, God willing, become a man?" So they marry, of course. Zimmer's illustrations, easily recognizable to fans of Bony Legs (Macmillan, 1983), are framed by interesting block-print borders that enhance the folkloric flavor of this original tale. The sharp-featured characters are depicted with cartoonlike humor. The colors are a bit garish. The text is amusing, especially when the girl's disbelieving parents react to her intractable refusal to marry and when she devises tests for the dim bulbs who come courting. However, readers will find that this broom suffers in comparison to The Widow's Broom (Houghton, 1992), which is quickened artfully in the hands of Chris Van Allsburg. And Tsugele herself lacks the spirit of that snappy feminist heroine, The Squire's Bride (Atheneum, 1975; o.p.) by Marcia Sewall. Therefore, when the couple marry, it is not as satisfying as it's meant to be. An additional selection. --Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Carey ( The Devil and Mother Crump ) sets her jaunty folktale in a Polish village, where Tsugele, with help from her trusty broom, keeps house for her parents. Deciding it is time for their daughter to marry, they employ a matchmaker, who produces two totally unsuitable suitors. Tsugele concludes she is better off by herself ("find me a man as reliable as my broom and I will marry him"), and leaves home--beloved broom in hand--to become a housekeeper. Before long the girl finds an unexpected soul mate, as Carey resolves this quaint yet strongly feminist story with a whimsical twist. Zimmer ( The Moonbow of Mr. B. Bones ; The Cow Is Mooing Anyhow ) demonstrates his artistic versatility with an intriguing combination of woodblock illustrations and borders and full-toned, playful folk-art drawings. The book's jacket--neon orange woodblock animals poised against a luminous blue background--is particularly captivating. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060209860
• ISBN 13: 9780060209865
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Zimmer Dirk
• Edition number: 1