Aunt Nancy and Cousin Lazybones

Cousin Lazybones is so lazy that even his shadow does not follow him around, but when Aunt Nancy invites him over to help with the chores, he wobbles over on weak knees, and it does not take Nancy long to see who will be doing all the work and who will be resting up.

Grade 1-4-Root and Parkins, who created Aunt Nancy and Old Man Trouble (Candlewick, 1996), pair up again to delight young readers with another original trickster tale. Cousin Lazybones, whose favorite occupation is sleeping, makes himself right at home-mostly in the rocking chair-during his (uninvited) visit to Aunt Nancy's. His answer to helping with the chores involves putting the water bucket outside the door until it rains and eating off of both sides of the plates before washing them. Aunt Nancy is no fool, however, and she outwits Cousin Lazybones. The next morning, she pretends that a "bone in her leg" makes it impossible for her to walk and lists all of the tasks that need to be done on this "spring-cleaning day," which quickly sets the lazy relative a-running. Aunt Nancy turns gleeful cartwheels in the yard after his departure. Most pages feature small silhouette illustrations accompanying the text; juxtaposed are full-color paintings styled with the kind of broad, exaggerated action that brings the story to life. The two characters, exuding expression, suit their parts to a T.
Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The heroine from this duo's earlier Aunt Nancy and Old Man Trouble (see Reprints below) returns to outwit a do-nothing relative in this spunky tale. Aunt Nancy dreads a visit from Cousin Lazybones, who is sloth personified. But "family was family, so what could she do?" Aunt Nancy never expected, however, the depths of Cousin Lazybones's flaw. His idea of washing the dishes is to turn dirty plates over to use the other side; he fetches water by setting a pail outdoors and waiting for rain. And even this minimal activity leaves the oaf physically spent. Aunt Nancy decides that "Family is family. But enough is enough" and to Cousin Lazybones's dismay, she comes down with a case of laziness herself. With all the chores left in his lap, Cousin Lazybones flees in horror. Root brings generous dollops of humor and homespun flavor to her folktale, carefully setting up Cousin Lazybones for a fall. Though the dialect is a bit uneven (in a few places, grammar is needlessly incorrect), the countrified idioms provide lots of flair. Parkins alternates shadowy full-color oils with spots of black-and-white silhouette art for a visually satisfying effect. His Cousin Lazybones is an unkempt bumbling giant of a man, the antithesis of diminutive Aunt Nancy in her tight coif and apron. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.