Larky Mavis [Hardcover]

Brock Cole (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2001 | Age Level: 4 and up

Another orginal picture-book fairy tale

Larky Mavis, an eccentric soul, finds three peanuts in the middle of the road. The first tastes like liver and onions. The second, like bread pudding. And the third -- well, inside the third is a baby. Larky Mavis decides to name it Heart's Delight and to take care of it. She shows it to the teacher, and he says it looks like a worm. She asks the parson to christen it, but he thinks it's a mouse. And when she asks the doctor to help her teach the baby to say "Ma," he thinks it's a deformed bird. And indeed, Heart's Delight has sprouted wings. As Mavis's charge grows and grows, readers will recognize that Heart's Delight is something akin to an angel, and the townspeople also realize that it is something special, but they want to take it away. And as much as Larky Mavis tries to protect Heart's Delight, it is the peanut-shell baby who turns out to be Mavis's savior in the end.

This unusual tale is illustrated by the author in lively watercolors.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Down the road came Larky Mavis, mooning about, mooning about." She trips on three peanuts... and ends up eating two out of three. In the third she finds a tiny pink creature, small enough to fit in her hand. "'Well!' she said, laughing. 'I won't eat you!'" And whom exactly does the third peanut contain? We're not quite sure. The villagers call Mavis's blanket-wrapped bundle everything from a worm to a bat to (when it gets bigger) a turkey or a pig, but he remains her precious little baby that she calls Heart's Delight. As fear and curiosity build in the village, Mavis is forced to protect what is dearest to her. Or is it the other way around? Brock Cole, creator of the award-winning Buttons, will thoroughly charm young readers with this deliciously whimsical, pleasantly odd, happily ending story of the transcendent, transformative nature of love. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

Brock (Buttons) delivers a lyrical and ever-relevant picture book. Larky Mavis, depicted in loose-flowing but highly expressive watercolors as a simpleton in rags, "moons about" the byways and squares of a village where time has stopped. Stumbling upon three peanuts, she finds in one a creature she identifies as a little baby. She names him Heart's Delight and cherishes him, even after the schoolmaster calls him a worm, the parson proclaims him a mouse and the doctor labels him as a deformed bird or bat. Readers do not see Heart's Delight, so they will not know which, if any, definition fits. The text outlines the villagers' contempt for Mavis ("You're not to hang around the church," the parson reminds her. "People don't like it"), while the illustrations show her feeding a homeless family (not mentioned in the text) and villagers recoiling from her even as she faithfully tends her charge. Finally, villagers (and readers) get a glimpse of her child first, what appear to be wings peek out of the bundle Mavis carries and, soon after, an angel emerges. Suddenly the schoolmaster, the parson and the doctor find uses for Heart's Delight, but he has his own purpose: he carries Mavis into the sky to an unnamed destination. The tale's enigmatic quality elevates it above a simple moral tale, and the scenes conveying Mavis's kindness will win sympathy for her. Brock draws material from fables, fairy tales and mythic archetypes to create a story that will resonate deeply with readers. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (August 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374343659
• ISBN-13: 978-0374343651
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,188,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely, Whimsical Story....., October 1, 2001

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Larky Mavis (Hardcover)

"Down the road came Larky Mavis, mooning about, mooning about." She's a kind-hearted, simple minded, ragtag of a woman with a mop of red hair. She trips over three peanuts, eats two, and when she opens the third, finds what she's convinced, is a baby inside. She names it Heart's Delight because it makes her glad and carefully feeds and nutures it, carrying her baby with her in a basket, wherever she goes. Soon, Heart's Delight has grown so large that Larky Mavis wraps it up in an old tablecloth and carries it on her back. The townspeople, at first show contempt and disdain for Mavis and Heart's Delight, calling her baby, when they get a peek, a mouse, a deformed bird or maybe a bat and as it grows, a turkey in molt, a calf and a half or even a dragon and try to take Heart's Delight away from her. But Mavis is its mother and protects it with all her might. As the townspeople descend, a voice is heard from the wrapped bundle we've never seen, "Let Go My Ma!" and Heart's Delight finally appears to save the day..... Brock Cole has authored a clever and appealing modern day fairy tale with a simple message about tolerance, that won't be lost on young readers. The gentle and engaging text is complemented by his evocative and detailed watercolor artwork in subdued tones and youngsters will be entranced as they watch and wait for a hidden Heart's Delight to finally appear. Perfect for children 4-8, Larky Mavis is a masterpiece, sure to become a classic, and a wonderful addition to all home bookshelves.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing, December 28, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Larky Mavis (Hardcover)

I purchased the book for a young cousin and after reading it decided it wasn't appropriate. The book was disturbing with references to Larky Mavis's "baby" as a deformed bird and other descriptives that I found odd. While the descriptions of Larky's find are surprising, the characters in the book were very traditional (mostly men as professionals like the doctor and others Larky runs into). It seemed like a book for a young girl, but the role models were all men. The ending of the story is anti-climatic and doesn't provide much closure (the winged creature simply lifts Larky up into the sky). I was very disappointed with the purchase.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Review of Brock Cole's Book Larky Mavis, November 25, 2001

By 

denise welcsh (Canton) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Larky Mavis (Hardcover)

Denise Welcsh
Children's Literature
Professor Jen Welsh
19 November, 2001
A Review of Brock Cole's Picture Book Larky Mavis
Brock Cole's picture book Larky Marvis, at first glance, reminds myself of a pastoral Norman Rockwell setting. A tall, freckled-faced red haired girl stands in the middle of a grassy field with pink and yellow butterflies about while she holds on to a sack which appears to have a rabbit or a angel's wings poking out at the sides. The sack is the most intriguing item I first see. The wondering and imaging what is in the sack I believe to be the thing that beckons the reader to open the book.
The story begins rather harmlessly with a girl named Mavis who is walking down a dirt path and stumbles upon three peanuts. She decides to eat them one by one. The first tasting like liver and onions and the second tasting like bread pudding and the third with what she believes to be a baby. She then shows the teacher of the nearby school and he believes she is showing him and his students a worm. Although, the teacher calls her baby a worm she decides to keep it in her pocket. The next Sunday Mavis takes her baby to the parson and asks if he can christen her baby, in the basket, she calls Hearts Delight. The parson is outraged and tells Mavis he can not baptize a mouse and tells her to run along. The next person she meets is the Doctor with Hearts Delight in a sack. She asks him if he could help the baby to say "Ma". Doctor is also outraged and says to her I can not make your bat say "Ma" because he does not think it fit for animals to be talking. As Hearts Delight grew, Mavis had to feed her baby potatoes and cabbage and whatever Hearts Delight didn't eat Mavis gave away. Every one in the town became very upset with Mavis and the thing in her sack and wanted to do something about it. They all tried to make Mavis believe that they were going to take her baby away and care for it elsewhere. But Mavis remembered how no one wanted to help her and Hearts Delight while it was growing up and she ran away with Hearts Delight. On the way, she met the teacher, the parson, the doctor and they all wanted Hearts Delight for their own selfish purposes. But in that instant when they were all grabbing on to her and Hearts Delight, it called for her to "Let Go Ma" and off Mavis and Hearts Delight flew into the sky.
With the pastoral Norman Rockwell images and the beautiful story of a young girls peanut baby, the story draws on simple times and simple things. Although the story seems to be very untraditional, the pictured and images are of time long forgotten by most, of a person on their porch reading The Saturday Evening Post .