The Pattaconk Brook - Hardcover

Stevenson, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688119549 ISBN 13: 9780688119546

Publisher: Greenwillow, 1993

Synopsis

Sherry the snail finds Sidney the frog recording the brook and suggests they go down to the sea where the sounds will be better

About this title

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Sidney the frog likes to sit and write down the different sounds he hears coming from Pattaconk Brook. Sherry the snail comes along and adds to the list. The two become fast friends and decide to travel together downstream to the sea, where they are sure the sounds will be more extraordinary than any they have ever heard. Once there, however, the adventure story takes an abrupt turn. Sherry decides that life at the seaside suits her, leaving the frog to return home alone. Children may feel that she abandons Sidney and question what friendship means to her. Stevenson's trademark pastel watercolor and black-pen illustrations are the best part of this philosophical selection.
Lesley McKinstry, Findlay-Hancock County Public Library, OH
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Shoehorned, with uneven grace, into an insistent dactylic tetrameter that mimics a burbling brook (``A branch floating by might be jumped on and ridden./One might ride over waterfalls down to the sea''), here is the saga of Sidney--a frog, first seen recording the Pattaconk's voice in his notebook--and his friend Sherry, a snail (``I'm a listener, not a speller''). The two board a passing twig and--defying the usual laws of motion for such a vessel--float to the sea, occasioning a certain amount of lyricism in the verse but not as much as is to be found in Stevenson's casual-seeming (but considerably more adroit) line and the delectable colors in which he presents this idyll. Reaching their mutual goal results in a bittersweet parting, with rather adult resonances: Sherry decides to stay on, but Sidney needs to get back upstream to his notebook. Slight, but sweet; fans of Stevenson's art won't be disappointed. (Picture book. 4- 8) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 4-8. Sidney the frog is sitting by the brook as it says, "`Pattaconk, Pattaconk, Pattaconk.' The quick brook says, `Pattaconk,' as it heads for the sea." Sidney is writing down the sounds he hears all around him when Sherry the snail comes by. They talk about the sounds and the sea, and soon the two of them are holding onto a floating branch as they "ride down the Pattaconk, glide down the Pattaconk, slide down the Pattaconk, down to the sea!" The sea is all they anticipate and more--so much more that Sherry decides to stay, and the friends part with promises of future meetings. The rhythmic text is a read-aloud delight, and Stevenson's watercolor brook- and seascapes have a simplicity and a charm that enhance and complement the words. With adventure, suspense, and a surprise ending, this is a very pleasant choice all around. Janice Del Negro

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenwillow
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688119549
• ISBN 13: 9780688119546
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1