Laura DriscollReseñas
Autor de Beck and the Great Berry Battle (Disney Fairies)
Reseñas
Beck and the Great Berry Battle (Disney Fairies) por Laura Driscoll
Awards: N/A
I find it amusing that the editor of this collection felt it necessary to fiddle with every story from its original appearance, making minor changes in word order and word choice throughout, maybe to achieve a certain reading level or perhaps simply as a way to justify their existence? It's also funny when an illustration that was tiny in its first appearance is blown up here to fill half a page or more, showing all the warts the artist intended to be invisible at the smaller size.
Be Patient, Pooh ~ 3 stars
Pooh is just adorable as he impatiently awaits his birthday party at suppertime. The story delivers a nice mix of humor and educational stuff like time telling, daily structure through mealtimes, and activities to do with friends.
Roo's New Babysitter ~ 3 stars
Frequently re-read with my daughter throughout her childhood, this amusing little story of role reversal still pleases us today.
I do have to wonder about Kanga's "shopping and supper" outing with the mysterious "Aunt Sadie," especially when she returns without a single bag or purchase. So many possibilities, the mind boggles. What does a kangaroo get up to on a girls' night out?
The Sleepover ~ 2 stars
Piglet's anxiety gets the best of him during a sleepover at Pooh's house, so Pooh enables him by moving the sleepover to Piglet's house. Ummmmm.
Eeyore's Good Day ~ 2 stars
Eeyore doesn't feel right with nothing to despair over, but Pooh's clumsiness soon enables his depression. Ummmmm.
Tigger's Moving Day ~ 3 stars
Tigger needs a new house with more bouncing room. Fortunately, unlike most places right now, the Hundred Acre Wood seems to have an inventory of empty and available residential properties. Tigger's friends help with the moving and their friendship and support make the new house feel like a home. Sweet.
Pooh Welcomes Winter ~ 3 stars
"Winter is coming," intoned Pooh grimly, unaware of the events in motion that would one day result in innocent little Piglet becoming the hardened assassin who would lay low the Night King of the Woozle Walkers with an astonishingly deft act of knife work.
But first Pooh will have to deal with a little bit of mistaken identity regarding the chubby and quiet white fellow who has appeared in the Hundred Acre Wood just as Pooh is expecting Winter's arrival and is planning a party in his honor. But he seems cold; best warm him by the fire!
This cute little tale is part of the My Very First Winnie the Pooh series, probably my favorite of the many Pooh series I bought and read to my daughter. Frequent contributor Kathleen W. Zoehfeld is probably my favorite Pooh author after Milne. Hers were the Pooh books my daughter wanted to read over and over again throughout her childhood, and considering the way my little college junior was chuckling as I read it to her yet again today, they still hold up for her too.
This version is abridged quite a bit but still holds up.
Scavenger Hunt ~ 2 stars
Christopher Robin sends the Pooh friends hunting for three concrete objects and one very sappy ending.
This is an adaptation of the original reader version by Isabel Gaines.
A Good Night's Sleep ~ 2 stars
This is the only story in the whole book that I haven't read before in some other form, and unfortunately it's a bit dull. When Rabbit can't sleep due to birds singing outside his bedroom window, he invites himself to move in with Pooh, which somehow results in Pooh becoming his assistant gardener. Pooh can't take Rabbit's early hours and grueling workload, so he brainstorms with Piglet to figure out a way to get rid of the birds.
Rabbit's Bad Mood ~ 2 stars
Rabbit's titular bad mood is caused by his garden vegetables turning out poorly: the carrots are shrunken the lettuce is wilted, the "raddish [sic]" he just bit into is too hot and spicy, and the turnips never grew at all.
After imagining that Rabbit's bad mood is a storm behind his eyes to be calmed or a cloud over his head to be blown away, Piglet and Pooh fetch some friends to fix Rabbit's mood. Owl and Tigger quickly start gaslighting him, positing that Rabbit forgot to water or even plant the seeds. And when they have Rabbit on the ropes and starting to doubt himself, they switch stories to an excess of rain ruining the garden. That's the ticket!
My stand-alone copy of this story is part of a set of "My Very First Winnie the Pooh" books I ordered in special from Australia as they do not seem to have been published in the United States. The Australian version is credited to Kathleeen W. Zoehfeld, who wrote the majority of the "My Very First Winnie the Pooh" series. However, the verso page of this collection attributes the writing to Katherine Quenot, a French writer. So I'm unclear if Zoehfeld wrote the story and Quenot simply translated it into French as "Une Journée Avec Winnie l'Oursin: Coco Lapin est de mauvaise humeur," or if Quenot wrote the original story in French and Zoehfeld was part of the team that adapted it into English or just had her name slapped on the cover randomly by Australian editors. I don't really trust the attribution skills of the editors of this collection as they give a 2017 copyright for the story when the French edition seems to have an October 2002 publication date and the English version has a 2003 copyright. Also the art is credited to "Philippe L'Atelier Harchy," which seems to be a mistaken variation on the name of prolific Disney artist Atelier Philippe Harchy.
The art of the stand-alone book does seem to have been produced or manipulated at some point in France as Pooh lives under the name "M. Sanders" (for Monsieur Sanders) instead of the "Mr. Sanders" (for Mister Sanders) found in E. H. Shepard's illustrations. And apparently, the French artists, the American writer and the Australian editors do not know the difference between moles and gophers, as Gopher will attest below:
https://i.imgur.com/WvGN2yC.png
The version of the story presented in this collection eliminates the "M. Sanders" label and the gopher picture. Also, the text is consistently different in word choice throughout from the Zoehfeld version, as if a third author stepped in to translate the script. I'm amused to think that Zoehfeld may have written the original script, then it was translated into French by Quenot, and then this book editor paid someone else for a new translation not knowing there was already an English version extant.
At least this version doesn't end with the previously unseen Eeyore suddenly showing up to share some irritating word salad insight.
But it's another Pooh story that's more interesting for what's going on behind-the-scenes.
Why Take a Nap? ~ 2 stars
Roo refuses to take a nap because FOMO! But his friends all assure him they will just be doing boring chores. And, gee willikers a good nap may just give Roo the energy he needs to win the big sack race later in the book.
Heavy-handed nap propaganda for parents whose tots just won't settle down.
As with "Rabbit's Bad Mood" above, I own a 2003 Australian version of this story under the title Nap Time for Roo which is attributed to Kathleen W. Zoehfeld. But this collection credits the story to Katherine Quenot and artist "Philippe L'Atelier Harchy." There is a French version entitled Petit Gourou n'aime pas la sieste in the "Une Journée Avec Winnie l'Oursin" series that was published in October 2002. Once again, the English version in this collection doesn't match the same word choice used throughout the Zoehfeld version, so I don't know who originated the story or produced this version.
Boo to You, Winnie the Pooh ~ 2 stars
It's all pratfalls and misunderstandings in a story that isn't nearly as funny as it wants to be. Piglet is scared of Halloween, but ends up being braver than he thinks and saves it from being a Hallowasn't. I'm not a fan of the TV special upon which this is based either. Very meh.
This is an adaptation of the book by Bruce Talkington adapting the teleplay by Carter Crocker, so being twice removed, it's quite watered down.
Piglet's Night-Lights ~ 2 stars
Piglet's fear of the dark causes him to fret over a camping trip, but he faces his fear as his Hundred-Acre pals spend the dark night helping him learn about all the many sources of light around him. Manages to be educational and tell a story, but the words and pictures didn't quite gel, with the text describing the pictures too many times or falling behind what the pictures reveal.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents:
• Be Patient, Pooh / Kathleen W. Zoehfeld, writer; Robbin Cuddy, illustrator
• Roo's New Babysitter / Kathleen W. Zoehfeld, writer; Robbin Cuddy, illustrator
• The Sleepover / Laura Driscoll, writer; Josie Yee, illustrator [from Laura Driscoll's Winnie the Pooh 5-Minute Stories: A Charming Collection of Hundred-Acre Wood Tales]
• Eeyore's Good Day / Laura Driscoll, writer; Josie Yee, illustrator [from Laura Driscoll's Winnie the Pooh 5-Minute Stories: A Charming Collection of Hundred-Acre Wood Tales]
• Tigger's Moving Day / Kathleen W. Zoehfeld, writer; Robbin Cuddy, illustrator
• Pooh Welcomes Winter / Kathleen W. Zoehfeld, writer; Robbin Cuddy, illustrator
• Scavenger Hunt / Megan Ilnittzki, adaptation writer; Studio Orlando, illustrators; based on the book Pooh's Scavenger Hunt by Isabel Gaines
• A Good Night's Sleep / Annie Auerbach, adaptation writer; based on the book Winnie the Pooh: A Good Night's Sleep
• Rabbit's Bad Mood / Katherine Quenot, writer; Atelier Philippe Harchy (attributed as Philippe L'Atelier Harchy), illustrator
• Why Take a Nap? / Katherine Quenot, writer; Atelier Philippe Harchy (attributed as Philippe L'Atelier Harchy), illustrator
• Boo to You, Winnie the Pooh / Bruce Talkington, adaptation writer; Carter Crocker, original teleplay writer; Robbin Cuddy, illustrator
• Piglet's Night-Lights / K. Emily Hutta, original writer; Atelier Philippe Harchy, illustrator
(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... )
Eeyore's Good Day
Eeyore doesn't feel right with nothing to despair over, but Pooh's clumsiness soon enables his depression. Ummmmm.
The Sleepover
Piglet's anxiety gets the best of him during a sleepover at Pooh's house, so Pooh enables him by moving the sleepover to Piglet's house. Ummmmm.
Pooh's Surprise
Pooh has drawn a picture of his friends and wants to surprise them with an unveiling. A clever idea about forgetfulness is lost in a story mostly given over to walking around making invitations. The actual unveiling is tossed off in a final sentence with no illustration, which seems anticlimactic as hell.
Roo Learns a Lesson
Roo realizes he's the only one of his friends who doesn't live alone. But when he sees that living alone means having to do all your own chores, he realizes he's better off having Kanga help and care for him.
The Search for Tigger's Bounce
Tigger's having a little projectile dysfunction, but a pop psychology session with Christopher Robin assures him it's a mental issue and not a physical one. With everyone watching and cheering him on, appealing to his exhibitionism, Tigger is able to get it up again and bounce one out.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents: Eeyore's Good Day -- The Sleepover -- Pooh's Surprise -- Roo Learns a Lesson -- The Search for Tigger's Bounce
(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... )
Winnie-the-Pooh Award: Notable Children's Recordings
This adaptation by Laura Driscoll and the Disney Storybook Artists -- the first of a half-dozen I'll be reviewing this week -- is a Random House Pictureback Book. It dumps the movie opening and jumps right into the heffalump hunt, giving it a little more energy right away. It trims out a ton more, but keeps the spirit and humor of the film. A fun reminder of the movie.
Disney recycling alert!
Many of the illustrations in this adaptation were also used in Disney Winnie the Pooh CD Storybook: The Many Adventure of Winnie the Pooh / Piglet's Big Movie / Pooh's Heffalump Movie / The Tigger Movie with a different adaptation written by Karen Comer.
FOR REFERENCE:
Pooh's Heffalump Movie was directed by Frank Nissen from a screenplay by Brian Hohlfeld and Evan Spiliotopoulos, based on the characters created by by A. A. Milne.
(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... )
This adaptation by Laura Driscoll is pretty spare at 24-pages but still captures the gist of the film. The illustrations credited to the Disney Storybook Artists are very nice.
FOR REFERENCE:
The original film was directed by Francis Glebas, with a screenplay by Brian Hohlfeld, additional screenplay material by Ted Henning, and based on Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne. The film and its many adaptations contain a framing sequence around segments adapting A. A. Milne's:
• Winnie-the-Pooh Chapter 7. In Which Kanga and Baby Roo Come to the Forest, and Piglet Has a Bath
• Winnie-the-Pooh Chapter 8. In Which Christopher Robin Leads an Expotition to the North Pole
• The House at Pooh Corner Chapter 1. In Which A House Is Built at Pooh Corner for Eeyore.
(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23954351-rod-brown?ref=nav_mybooks&she... )
In this particular story, Little Penguin tells the readers that he is waiting for a polar bear to visit. He's never met a polar bear before, but his friends all tell him that they are scary, have sharp teeth and loud roars, and they tell bad jokes! When the polar bear arrives, she doesn't seem so bad at first, but then she starts telling jokes... In the end, Little Penguin realizes you can't believe everything you hear and to give new friends a chance.
The art is washed out, muddy watercolors. This may be just in the easy reader versions, since I've seen Bentley's art in picture books and it's brighter, clearer, and more sharply defined, but this looked as though it had washes of gray over most of the picture. The animals are kind of oddly shaped and the polar bear has the typical "female" long eyelashes. The book is a level "K" so for intermediate readers, with typical bold text on a white background.
There's nothing "wrong" with this exactly, it just felt meh to me. Typical story, bland art, etc. Nostalgia of course, but I remember with longing the quirky easy readers of my childhood, Morris the Moose, Ellen Blance's Monster, and the classics like Little Bear and Frog and Toad. There are plenty of awesome easy readers, but it seems like there's a lot more blah titles. And maybe that's ok - kids have to read a lot just to build fluency and I'm probably forgetting all the meh titles of my childhood, not to mention I was a quick reader and started reading more challenging titles very soon.
Verdict: This is filler - books you add to keep your shelves filled in and to provide extra reading material for kids to practice. There's nothing particularly outstanding, good or bad, about it and it's not the first choice, but when you need more it's there to fill in the corners.
ISBN: 9780062699954; Published October 2019 by Balzer and Bray; Purchased for the library
This book was super informative while being couched in a story so that it didn't feel didactic. The narrator and her brother appear to have a black mother and a white father, which is nice to see. (I was just yesterday discussing with a co-worker how many, many of our young patrons are interracial, but so few children's books depict such families.) Visiting the different employees at the hospital not only showcased the many types of medical jobs available, but also gave the author and the illustrator another chance to feature characters of various different ethnic backgrounds.
The book ends with a quick one-page description of the technical terms for each type of doctor and a definition of these terms.
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