Alice Nizzy Nazzy - Softcover

Johnston, Tony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 069811650X ISBN 13: 9780698116504

Publisher: Puffin, 1998

Synopsis

When Manuela loses her sheep, the tracks lead directly to Alice Nizzy Nazzy's fence, but Alice is so mean and so ugly that people say she is a witch who likes to eat children, but Manuela will have to face the beady-eyed old woman eventually. Reprint.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3?Johnston removes Baba Yaga, aka Alice Nizzy Nazzy, from the Russian forest and places her in a roadrunner-footed, adobe hut in the desert near Santa Fe. Unlucky little Manuela happens upon the sinister scene while searching for her lost sheep. The witch puts her in the cookpot, Manuela tries to make a deal that falls through, but her "goodness" saves her: only naughty children are tasty to witches. Alice flies off in search of a better meal and Manuela happily takes her sheep home. dePaola's pictures are more engaging than ever. He does wonderful things with colors in the Southwestern landscape. His mountains look like ice-cream confections littered with carnival confetti, and he has fun with the little artistic conceit of the first-page image of Frida Kahlo. In spite of the art, the story doesn't quite come off. In traditional tales, the protagonist escapes from the witch's snare through virtuous acts. And in the "Baba Yaga" tale, the heroine helps the gate, dog, etc., and in turn they help her to escape. Kindness brings reward. In this version, however, Manuela offers only flattery instead of good deeds to the witch's fence, house, and lizard/familiar, and they do not help her, even though they seem to like the flattery. The child does nothing to win release from her captor, to get back her sheep, or to deserve a good outcome, but she gets it anyway. This is too facile to be satisfying.?Ruth Semrau, formerly at Lovejoy School, Allen, TX
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4^-6. Johnston moves the Russian Baba Yaga tale to the American Southwest, and something gets lost in the translation. This witch is named Alice Nizzy Nazzy, and she's pretty nasty, though not really scary in true Baba Yaga fashion. It's the misfortune of a little girl named Manuela to meet up with her when Manuela's sheep run into Alice Nizzy Nazzy's yard. Although several times it looks as if Manuela is about to become Alice's dinner, events twist and turn until, finally, Manuela is freed--she's such a good girl that she tastes bad. Johnston's telling has a nice cadence to it, but the plot rambles, and the ending falls flat. The artwork is a little rougher in both design and execution than dePaola's usual style, but his witch is a wild one and accounts for most of the story's visual excitement. Get this for larger collections or where the southwestern setting has local appeal. Ilene Cooper

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 069811650X
• ISBN 13: 9780698116504
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32