Gooseberry Park - Hardcover

Rylant, Cynthia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152322426 ISBN 13: 9780152322427

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1995

Synopsis

Settling into a magnificent pin oak, Stumpy Squirrel gives birth to beautiful babies much to her friends' delight, but an ice storm kills the tree and keeps Stumpy from her home, causing her friends to launch a rescue mission.

About this title

About the Authors

Cynthia Rylant is a Newbery medalist and the author of many acclaimed books for young people. She's well known for her popular characters for early readers, including Mr. Putter & Tabby and Henry & Mudge. She lives in the Pacific Northwest. www.cynthiarylant.com.

 

 

 

Arthur Howard created the lively illustrations for all of the Mr. Putter & Tabby books and has written and illustrated several picture books of his own. He lives in New York City.

 

Reviews

Grade 3-5?Kona, an earnest Labrador retriever; Gwendolyn, a wise hermit crab who has been reincarnated 17 times; Murray, a loopy, Chinese leftover-eating bat; and Stumpy, a squirrel, come together during a terrible ice storm in Gooseberry Park to save Stumpy's three babies. Rylant's spare prose results in a trim tale. She does a beautiful job of creating the players, deftly drawing personalities. Murray, in particular, with his occasional snide remarks, is charming. From the humor, especially the wordplay and sarcasm, the book appears to be intended for the older elementary-school crowd, though the annoyingly smug tone of the omniscient narrator, particularly in the first chapter, might put them off. The plot holds together well, even though the oblivion of Kona's absent-minded master, Professor Albert, stretches it a trifle thin. If readers can get past the first few chapters, they will find a story they will want to finish. Howard's appealing black-and-white cartoons appear throughout.?Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An assortment of domesticated pets and untamed creatures band together to help a friend in need in the Newbery Medalist's rollicking animal tale. At the center is Stumpy, a squirrel who gives birth to triplets shortly before her nest in Gooseberry Park is destroyed by an ice storm. Thanks to the ingenuity of Gwendolyn, a Labrador owned by a retired professor; Kona, a wise old hermit crab; and a prankster bat named Murray, Stumpy's babies are rescued and taken to cozy quarters in the professor's basement. The problem? Having left the newborns under the care of Murray, Stumpy has wandered off for help and cannot be found. The adventures of Gwendolyn, Kona and Murray as they nurture the baby squirrels, raid the professor's cupboards and eventually devise a scheme to reunite Stumpy with her brood add up to first-rate entertainment. Readers will relish every moment of this impeccably paced fantasy and its winning depictions of the unique perspectives and quandaries of four unlikely companions. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 4^-6. Rylant's latest gets off to a slow start: an introduction to the nesting instinct in humans and squirrels--squirrels because Stumpy the squirrel is having babies and needs to find a place for them all to live. The story doesn't really pick up until a vicious ice storm blows in, forcing Stumpy out of her pin oak in Gooseberry Park. Stumpy disappears, leaving her friends Kona the chocolate Labrador retriever and Murray the bat, assisted by Gwendolyn the hermit crab, to find Stumpy's babies and care for them until Stumpy can be found. The book is surprisingly uneven. The animals are personable enough, although in a stock-character sort of way, but the babies get no role at all, and, of course, Stumpy is missing for half the book. As for the story itself, Rylant seems to be rushing through it. Not a first selection, but considering the author's reputation, many libraries will want to have it on hand. Ilene Cooper

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152322426
• ISBN 13: 9780152322427
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Howard Arthur
• Number of pages: 144