The Ballymara Flood: A Tale from Old Ireland

Neglected by his television-entranced mother, a little boy finds his mythical Irish town overflowing with trouble when the bathtub faucet gets stuck and causes a flood with which not even the navy cannot help.

Kindergarten-Grade 3?A young boy in the Irish town of Ballymara turns on the faucets to take a bath and can't turn them off. His father, the fire brigade, and even the army corps of engineers are powerless to remedy the situation. As the waters rise ever higher, the frazzled mayor calls in the navy to rescue the townsfolk. Finally, the little boy, wrench in hand, manages to turn off the water in the dead of night and becomes the town hero. Booth's pen-and-ink and watercolor cartoons, reminiscent of some of James Stevenson's work, are the perfect foil for this humorous tale in which neither human nor beast is harmed. Beginning with the endpapers, each double-page spread depicts humorous details, many not recounted in the text, of people, animals, and vehicles floating in a sea of blue. Helicopters hover and buildings appear askew as the situation becomes ever more chaotic. The Irish flag and winding streets and cottages provide evidence of locale. Stuart suggests that readers keep in mind that he has written this rhymed story to the rhythms of an Irish jig. So play some tunes and get ready for a "Higgledy piggledy hi-de-ho" fun-filled read-aloud.?Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community-Technical College, CT
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

With the toe-tapping rhythm and good humor of an Irish jig, this original ballad tells the silly story of a boy whose bathtub overflows and floods the imaginary town of Ballymara. Neither the mayor, the admiral nor the corps of engineers can figure out what to do until, "higgledy piggledy hi-de-ho," the boy dives down into the bathroom with a wrench, turns the faucets off, and ends up getting a medal "to commemorate the day/ When all of Ballymara town/ Was nearly washed away." Stuart, half of the singing duo Chad and Jeremy and a first-time author, and New Yorker cartoonist Booth (Possum Come A-Knockin') fill the town with wacky and inept bureaucrats who enact one slapstick scene after another: the fire brigade crashes into a baker's van; so many soldiers and sailors come to rescue the townspeople that they block the country lanes. The solution seems a little contrived-a simple turn of the wrench would have worked equally well at the beginning of the story as at the end-but Stuart acknowledges this himself: "It's strange he was the only one/ Who thought of what to do." The illustrations are so droll and the sing-song text so comical that they will keep the audience laughing right down to the last drop. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4^-8. Stuart turns bath time into a source of lively comedy in this story told in rousing rhyme: "Once upon a time there was / A very famous case / Of a boy in Ballymara town / Who flooded out the place." The free-flowing, cartoon-style illustrations, fittingly done in pen and ink and watercolor, show the progress of the Ballymara reservoir as it spills from the taps to cover the town. With balloon dialogue adding extra punch, the pictures are kooky enough to appeal to kids, who will especially like Booth's high-strung dogs. Stephanie Zvirin