Edward ArdizzoneReseñas

Disappointing. I love Ardizzone illustrations (in books by other authors), but this book seemed written in order to shove in as many illustrations as possible, and quantity does not beat quality. The story has no whimsy, wit, or magic—and it seems awfully unlikely, but without a nod and a wink that makes unlikely behaviour acceptable in fiction. I'd be surprised that it spawned a popular series, except apparently Thomas the Tank Engine is a runway hit, and I think those are essentially unreadable, so there's no accounting for taste.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!

Ex-lib. Washtenaw County Library

Ex libris Rebecca Schaffner

Ex libris Rebecca Schaffner

Orig. publ. (in its first ed.), 1936Ex libris Rebecca Schaffner

Ex libris Rebecca Schaffner

Ex libris Rebecca Schaffner

A very odd story about a very small boy who comes home to discover that his parents have moved away. He has to take care of himself and track down his parents. Fortunately, he is brave.

When a rhinoceros with a dreadful head cold wanders into her sitting-room one winter evening, young Diana, "who was a sensible child," is not frightened like her parents. Understanding that the creature is sick, she feeds it medicine and buttered toast, defending it from the men with guns who arrive in search of it. So begins a lifelong friendship, as Diana and her rhinoceros live together for many years, eventually growing old together...

Originally published in 1964, and then reprinted in this 2008 edition, this delightfully quirky story from British author/illustrator Edward Ardizzone pairs a matter-of-factly magical tale with charming artwork. What could come across as silly and twee feels natural and engaging, thanks to Ardizzone's deft use of words and understated sense of humor. The artwork, which alternates between color painting (watercolor, perhaps?) and black and white drawings, is engaging and expressive. I love Ardizzone's use of hatching, in his black and white scenes, as well as his speech bubbles. All in all, an entertaining picture-book romp, one which I thank my goodreads friend Hilary for recommending it.

Bringing a cup of water to the old sailor resting on the road near his seaside home, young Peter hears the tale of how the man had searched the world for a treasure "more valuable than gold or diamonds, rubies or pearl." It is a treasure that was described to the sailor years before by a dying old man, one stores in an iron box to which he held the golden key. Shortly after the sailor sets off once again on his quest, Peter finds the key, and moved to compassion for the old man, sets off in pursuit, hoping to return his possession to him. Pursued by three nefarious men - "one very fat, one very tall and one very short" - Peter has many adventures on land and on sea, always struggling to catch up with the old sailor. When he eventually does, he and Dusty - a friend he had made upon his journey - are rewarded with the treasure itself: two magical stones, one which shows the past and the present, and which makes its keeper happy, and the other which will make its keeper brave and wise...

One of the giants of twentieth-century British children's literature, Edward Ardizzone was awarded the inaugural Kate Greenaway Medal - given annually to the year's best children's book illustrations by a British subject - in 1956 for Tim All Alone. Ardizzone is probably best-known for his series of picture-books about Tim, although I first encountered his work through the illustrations he did for his cousin Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda novels. Peter the Wanderer, originally published in 1963, is the first of his own picture-books I have happened to pick up, and it is absolutely charming! The story is engaging, the artwork delightful. I feel that if I had encountered it as a young girl, it might have become a perennial favorite. I certainly did (and do) love adventures stories, and this has adventure in spades. There is something so matter-of-factly magical about the whole tale - young Peter just taking off after the sailor, the pursuit of the three creepy men - that one just accepts the unlikely hi-jinks as completely natural. The artwork is so expressive, alternating between black & white and colored illustrations, and the use of speech bubbles adds to the sense of fun. Visually appealing, with an exciting and engrossing narrative, this is one I would recommend to more advanced picture-book readers (it's rather text-heavy) who enjoy tales of derring-do.

I love this little series about Tim and his friends.

A sweet little picture book about a boy who wants to go to sea, does so, and finds that it's more than he expected, in both good and bad ways.

Mom read this to me as a little child and then I learned to read it on my own. I loved the line illustrations and the occasional watercolored panel, too.

Published in 1936, the illustrations are very detailed. Altering in color pages then black and white, back to color again, this is a story of Tim who lives by the sea, and he is obsessed with the sea and boats. He loves all kinds of boats, steamers and then small little ones.

His friends are the old boatman and Captain McFee, both of whom spin marvelous tales of their adventures. Longing to be a sailor and venture forth upon the sea, his parents tell him to wait for a long time until he is older.

One day, Tim is given a ride to board a steamer. Tim boarded the steamer and hid so that the boat man would forget him Little did he know that he would be put to work scrubbing the decks, helping the cook and running errands. When a storm approached with wicked waves that tossed the boat to and fro, Tim learned that time at sea is not always joyous.

Cute and whimsical, I enjoyed this story which I'm sure delighted many children throughout the history of the book.

Your utility may vary.

I'm honestly not sure what the point of this little book is. The title basically describes it: It prints a copy, with modern illustrations, of the (long version of) the ballad "The Babes in the Wood" -- a ballad which exists in many forms, of which this is only one. So reading the text will not really let you learn about the ballad; it will only teach you about this form of the ballad.

The real promise is the Historical Notes at the end. But these are only a page and a half long, and some of that consists of a discussion of whether the piece is suitable for children. The incredibly complicated discussion about whether the piece is historical, whether it refers to Richard III, whether it is Tudor propaganda, whether it refers to this, that, or the other later incident -- is entirely left out. The explanation is very incomplete and not particularly helpful.

So: If you want the text of the piece, you can get better ones elsewhere. If you want background notes, you can get better ones elsewhere. So the main reason to buy it would seem to be the illustrations. Want an illustrated fairy tale? Go for it. Want to understand that fairy tale? Go somewhere else.½

4½/5

An entertaining little memoir of rural and suburban middle-class life in the early 20th century. Although set in southern England (ranging from Ipswich to Bath via London and Wokingham), it is touched with the exotic, as Ardizzone's father was a French Catholic of Italian extraction who worked in the Far East. Young Edward begins his tale in 1905 as a five-year-old in a Suffolk village, passing unhappily through Ipswich Grammar School,, and then slightly less unhappily through boarding school and commercial college, failing the Army medical exam at the tail end of the Great War, finding employment as a clerk in brown and stuffy offices in post-Dickensian London, and finally stumbling into his true vocation as an artist and illustrator. Memorable scenes include the paroxysms of his irascible Victorian grandmother, the visit to an aunt in a Belgian convent, and the image of boys at harvest time circling the shrinking stand of corn, waiting to clobber any fleeing rabbits.

MB 16-x-2012

Little Tim wants to be a sailor and was very sad when his parents told him he'd have to wait years until he was grown-up. One day his friend the old boatman asks him if he'd like to go on board a ship for a look. Tim seizes the opportunity and stows away! Upon discovery he's put to hard work, which he does well and finds his place. Until--storm and shipwreck! Don't want to give it all away, but this is a nice story with good old fashioned messages about following dreams, working hard, being good. Nice read aloud

My son thought this book was great and the little boy was very brave. My husband thought it would be a lawsuit in the making. LOL

Oh my. Quite scary. The kids want to know what grog is? This book is a child's dream of adventure. But a little frightening; going to "Davey Jones' locker" and sending a telegram to the parents that he is safe? Like the dream he gets the medal for bravery in the end.

Tim and Ginger run into trouble when they sail as deck hands on the Arabella.

Charlotte lives in a big house with lots of toys but she is not happy, she wants to play with her friends and you can't have better friends than Tim and Ginger when they're bound for adventure, and trouble.

New York Times Book Review
"These pages hold so much motion and color, such sweeping clouds and towering seas ... that readers of all ages ... will take Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain to their hearts at once."
The Horn Book
"Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain is a classic."

A girl who did not care for dolls dumps her tiny doll in the freezer section of the grocer's shop. She sadly remains there, amongst the frozen beans and fish fingers, only noticed by one little girl who keeps making and delivering clothes to her -- not daring to take something from the shop that doesn't belong to her. Finally she and her mother ask the shop clerk who says she's know nothing about a doll and they are welcome to it. So the doll gets a proper home at last.

FROM THE BOOK COVER:
Paul was very sad, because his parents had lost a lot of money, and would have to sell their lovely house. He wondered how he could earn some money to help them. Then Paul had a wonderful idea -- he would get a job at the Fair; but he never dreamed what fascinating new friends and great adventures the new job would bring him.