Agatha's Feather Bed: Not Just Another Wild Goose Story - Hardcover

Deedy, Carmen Agra

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1561450081 ISBN 13: 9781561450084

Publisher: Peachtree Pub Co Inc, 1991

Synopsis

When children approach Agatha wanting to know the source of the beautiful fabrics in her weaving shop, she always recites a simple verse.
Everything comes from something,
Nothing comes from nothing.
Just like paper comes from trees,
And glass comes from sand,
An answer comes from a question.
All you have to do is ask.
Perhaps Agatha forgets her own advice, for one night her pleasant sleep is disrupted by six cranky, cold, naked geese. They want to discuss the source of the feathers keeping her so warm in her brand new feather bed. In a delightful O. Henry-inspired ending, Agatha arrives at a solution that benefits them all.
New York Times best-selling author Carmen Agra Deedy brings a delightful twist to the O. Henry story “The Gift of the Magi.” Also in Spanish, Agatha’s Feather Bed teaches readers to understand the delicate balance between our resources and responsibilities.

About this title

About the Author

Professional storyteller Carmen Deedy contributes regular commentary to National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," and performs at festivals, schools, bookstores, and museums across the nation. She's also appeared at conferences of the American Library Association, the Southeastern Booksellers Association, the International Reading Association, and Whole Language Umbrella. Deedy is the author THE LIBRARY DRAGON, TREEMAN, THE SECRET OF OLD ZEB, and THE LAST DANCE.

Laura L. Seeley was twice named Georgia Author of the Year for Juvenile Literature, in 1991 for THE BOOK OF SHADOWBOXES: A STORY OF THE ABCs and in 1993 for THE MAGICAL MOONBALLS. She also wrote and illustrated McSPOT'S HIDDEN SPOTS: A PUPPYHOOD SECRET. A native of Andover, Massachusetts, she holds a degree in Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Seeley lives in Atlanta, Georgia, teaches at the Atlanta College of Art, and is a popular speaker at elementary schools across the country.

From the Back Cover

A beginner’s guide to the world of mollusks, including snails, clams, and octopuses.

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- An old woman named Agatha owns a shop in which she "spins yarn and weaves cloth which she sells." One day a boy comes in with his mother and Agatha explains the origin of such things as silk, cotton, wool, etc. However, the main story does not begin until Agatha goes home that evening and is visited by six naked geese who are looking for their feathers--the feathers that are in her new feather bed. Agatha sends the geese away, telling them to return in three days. Although written with the intent of teaching young children that "everything comes from something," this message-laden picture book takes on too many ideas and ends up being overwhelming. Deedy also tries to incorporate puns into the text that appear one after another and often seem forced and out of context. Seeley's illustrations are the book's only redeeming quality. Drawn realistically in colored pencil using a variety of soft dark colors, each one is surrounded by a simple colorful border. However, the pictures in those borders often contain elements that are irrelevant to the the plot. All in all, this is unsuccessful as fiction and as nonfiction. --Rachel Fox, Port Washington Public Library, NY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Agatha, a sagacious old lady, sells her woven wares and imparts knowledge to all, "especially children: Everything comes from something, / Nothing comes from nothing ." This maxim reaches "six naked geese," who are chilly and demand the return of their feathers from Agatha's feather bed. Though "a little down in the mouth," Agatha promises a solution in three days. (The geese, meanwhile, register at the "Down Town Motel" where they "took a gander in the mirror.") Agatha's solution is inspired, as is Deedy's playful yarn. From its simple beginning--"Do you see that little shop sandwiched between two skyscrapers?"--to its intriguing conclusion--"Where do goose eggs come from, anyway?"--this finely crafted collaboration abounds with information and whimsy. It also teems with puns and word play, much of which may be of greater appeal to grownups than to the book's intended audience. Seeley's atmospheric illustrations are bathed in lavender, giving them a properly old-fashioned tone. Stylized patchwork borders contain examples of Agatha's truism--a flax plant stands by a bolt of linen, a stalk of wheat by a loaf of bread. A ducky book. Ages 4-10.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Old Agatha, proprietor of a lovely little shop that sells her spinning and weaving, harbors an affectionate brood of cats and enjoys offering children explanations about where things come from, describing the likes of silkworms and cotton bolls. Still, she has acquired a fine new featherbed without considering the geese, who arrive at her window, naked and complaining, in a flurry of puns (``plucky little guys''). Sending them off to stay at the ``Down Town Motel,'' Agatha contrives a unique recompense: cutting her own long hair, she makes coats for the geese to wear until their feathers grow back. In less skillful hands, this would have been a tract, but Deedy keeps the message undidactic: she suggests awareness and care for animal rights but leaves conclusions to the reader. Meanwhile, Seeley's delicately detailed illustrations are entrancing, with informative vignettes tucked into her decorative borders, an intricate new coiffure for Agatha's lengthy locks in almost every picture, and many quiet touches of humor. Offbeat, provocative, well crafted. (Picture book. 4-10) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Peachtree Pub Co Inc
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1561450081
• ISBN 13: 9781561450084
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Seeley Laura L.
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32