The Huckabuck Family: And How They Raised Popcorn in Nebraska and Quit and Came Back - Softcover

Sandburg, Carl

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0374434492 ISBN 13: 9780374434496

Publisher: Sunburst, 2004

Synopsis

A picture-book version of the classic Rootabaga story.

Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories have amused generations of children with their distinctly American fairy-tale flavor. In The Huckabuck family, which was from his first collection, Jonas Jonas, Mama Mama, and Pony Pony Huckabuck must pull up stakes when a fire starts and their enormous popcorn harvest pops them out of house and farm. After traveling to towns all over the country, where Jonas Jonas tries out very different occupations, the family finally receives a portent that it's time to go home. This time they won't be farming popcorn, however. David Small's golden rendition of this strange and funny tale, with its delicious textual repetition, will be a happy introduction to Sandburg for many children.

About this title

About the Author

Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was one of the foremost writers of the twentieth century.

David Small is the author and/or illustrator of many books, including the Caldecott Honor book The Gardener by Sarah Stewart. He lives in Mendon, Michigan.

From Publishers Weekly

The homespun, old-fashioned charm of Small's (The Gardener) busy pictures makes the most of this winning narrative, first published in 1923 as one of Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories. The comedy begins on a Nebraska corn farm owned by the Huckabucks: Jonas Jonas, Mama Mama and their daughter, Pony Pony ("I call my pony-face girl Pony Pony because if she doesn't hear me the first time, she always does the second," quips her father). The family's crop yields a bountiful harvest. But when Pony Pony finds a Chinese silver slipper buckle in the middle of a squash, her parents predict this means that their luck is going to change, "and we don't know whether it will be good luck or bad luck." A fire in the barn causes a veritable blizzard of popcorn, with Pony Pony and her dog staring out at each other, goggle-eyed. The Huckabucks then take to the road for several years while they wait for "a sign, a signal" to return home. As they cover the Midwestern states, Small shows the family as a tightly knit trio, with a mother and daughter proud of Jonas Jonas's resourcefulness, whether he is driving a coal wagon or watching the watches in a watch factory. When the Huckabucks finally get their "sign" to return to their farm, Small makes the most of their homecoming: all the animals gather at the front door to welcome the Huckabucks home, newspapers spilling off the front stoop. He depicts the family's peripatetic lifestyle with wry wit and droll details, leading readers of this engaging book to feel they've met with the good kind of luck. All ages. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Sunburst
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0374434492
• ISBN 13: 9780374434496
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Small David