Toads and Diamonds

Huck, Charlotte S.

ISBN 10: 0688136818 ISBN 13: 9780688136819

Publisher: Greenwillow, 1996

Synopsis

Rich, full-color illustrations bring to life this wonderful fairy tale about the relationship between a kind sister and her evil sibling and their just rewards for their different attitudes toward others.

About this title

About the Author:

"When I was a child, my favorite fairy tale was the story of Furball. I loved this variant of Cinderella that portrays a spunky young woman who uses her own ingenuity to change her life," says Charlotte Huck. She wondered why this dramatic story had never appeared in a picture-book edition, and it is not surprising that she chose it as the basis of her first book for children, Princess Furball. She felt that the selection of the right illustrator was crucial, and she says, 'Anita Lobel was the perfect artist for it. I think no one today extends the narrative of the story through art in the way Anita does. She is a true master." Charlotte Huck's retelling of a second classic fairy tale, Toads and Diamonds, was also illustrated by Anita Lobel.

Ms. Huck was a professor at Ohio State University for thirty years, and in 1996 the university established in her name the first endowed professorship in children's literature in the United States. Her honors include Ohio State University's Distinguished Teaching Award and the Arbuthnot Award, given annually by the International Reading Association to an outstanding professor of children's literature, and she was selected by the Association of Library Service to Children of the American Library Association to deliver an Arbuthnot Honorary Lecture.

Ms. Huck was the author of five editions of the classic Children's Literature in the Elementary School. As an anthologist, she selected poems of nineteen wellknown poets to create Secret Places, a collection for the youngest readers.

She lives in Redlands, California.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3?This retelling of the French folktale about the kind and unkind (step)sisters is supported by impeccable scholarship and crisp, thoughtful storytelling. Huck makes the story her own through her choice of name for the resourceful heroine, Renee (meaning reborn). She also puts a limit on the young woman's unusual reward: jewels and flowers will drop from her mouth when she speaks "as long as there will be a need." In her carefully documented author's note, Huck explains that it was important for Renee to be loved for herself. The entire narrative satisfies from beginning to end. Lobel's watercolor and gouache paintings amply illuminate the story. From the first illustration, the stepmother and stepsister dominate the page, often shunting Renee to one corner. Lobel captures textures with her brush: the velvet gowns of Francine and her mother, in contrast to their doughy faces, the leaves and flowers of the trees and plants, the smooth, faceted gems that fall from the kind sister's lips, and the scaly or spotted skins of snakes and toads that fall from Francine's mouth. The striking typeface is slightly fanciful, yet clear and easy to read. This appealing collaboration from the creators of Princess Furball (Greenwillow, 1989) is a lovely addition to folktale collections.?Donna L. Scanlon, Lancaster County Library, PA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Greenwillow
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0688136818
• ISBN 13: 9780688136819
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Illustrator: Lobel Anita