Beware the Brindlebeast

The creator of A Moon in My Teacup uses her richly colored, haunting illustrations to help retell the old English tale about the spunky Birdie, who matches wits with the mischievous, shape-shifting trickster, Brindlebeast. Tour.

Grade 1-3-In this retelling of an English fairy tale, Birdie is a poor old woman who discovers a kettle in the road and decides to use it as a flower pot. It suddenly appears to be filled with gold, and then apples; finally it becomes a pumpkin and she makes a jack-o'-lantern out of it. Birdie's contentment with the object in each of its forms sets the stage for the sudden transformation of the jack-o'-lantern into the Dread Brindlebeast. She is unimpressed and offers to share her dinner with the hideous creature, who then changes into a little old man who continues to visit, share dinner, and help around the house. The text is relatively short and moves the story along at a good pace for reading aloud. Riggio's full-and double-page oil paintings are dark and mysterious in the beginning of the book, but filled with fiery color when the Brindlebeast appears. A satisfying story for Halloween.
Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

On All Hallows Eve, Birdie's walk home from work turns eerie as she comes upon a pot of gold. Her mysterious treasure transforms itself into a barrel of apples and then into a pumpkin, which she proceeds to carve into a jack-o'-lantern. The next ferocious change would have lesser women unglued, but Birdie stands her ground and faces the hideous beast that will finally metamorphose into a welcome friend. Retelling an English tale, Riggio packs a wallop of suspense as well as some cinematic moments of high drama. Her dark oil paintings dazzle with their special-effects quality. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 5-7. Riggio smoothly retells a traditional fairy tale that takes place on Allhallows Eve in which a cheerful old woman named Birdie encounters the magical, form-changing Brindlebeast. On this spooky night, Birdie happens on a cast-iron kettle filled with gold coins, and, pleased with her good fortune, she drags it home. But as she walks, she finds the kettle mysteriously changing shape, first into a barrel of apples and then into a pumpkin. Undisturbed, she continues home, whereupon the pumpkin metamorphoses into the fiery, dragonlike Brindlebeast. Here, Riggio's dramatic oil paintings may be downright scary for the youngest child, but the artwork and the story are ultimately reassuring. Birdie is unafraid of the dreaded monster or of telling him so. As she turns her back on him, the Brindlebeast reveals himself as a small, humble man. Together they share dinner and conversation, and in the years to come, a friendship. Through handsome artwork and quality storytelling, Riggio has created an atmospheric holiday tale. Kathryn Broderick