From Publishers Weekly
Christiana's (The Tale I Told Sasha) fey, diaphanous watercolors flow through Gauch's (Dance, Tanya) allegorical story like light through water. Poppy the toymaker has a knack for making marvelous toys out of the odd bit of wood, and his gift for "listening" to the wood eventually prompts him to turn his maple dog Toby into a marionette, thus launching a new career. As Poppy's band of marionettes expands, he "always listened to the wood, and he always discovered who and what each marionette wanted to be." One day he doesn't listen, however, and determines to make a ballerina from a piece of teakwood. Clarinda is a beauty, but she's a miserable failure as a ballerina. Only when Poppy remembers to listen again does he discover her talent for tightrope dancing, which quickly becomes the highlight of the marionette show. If the theme seems a bit contrived, the prose is lucid and eloquent, and it gains a measure of mystery and magic from the ethereal illustrations. In one of his most approachable works yet, Christiana paints a cast of appealingly elfin characters. All knobbly wood and strings, the puppets' faces are marvelously expressive, their attitudes deftly conveyed, from the forlorn droop of Clarinda's head after her disastrous debut to the perky tilt of Toby's jointed tail. As always with Christiana, there are surprisesAtiny fairy puppets who lurk in shadowy corners, a leafless branch found serving as a curtain rod over Poppy's window. A sugarplum of a book. Ages 5-8. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-"Poppy made every one of the toys himself he'd see-or hear-something in it no one else did." The toymaker listens to the wood and discovers who or what each piece wants to be. One day, he finds a rare piece of teakwood, takes it home, and carves Clarinda, who is silent. Impatient to know her wishes and noticing her pretty, pointed toes, he declares her "A ballerina!" He tries to work the marionette's strings into pirouettes and arabesques, and although she is clumsy, he thinks she'll come around once onstage. A traveling marionette troupe is formed and is soon enjoyed by eager audiences of children. Gauch's deftness with words, smoothness of style, and clarity of expression allow readers to easily accept the notion of toys with hopes and dreams; they will cheer when Clarinda finds her true calling as a tightrope artist. The narrative becomes a kind of allegory; each figure (and the toymaker himself) realizes a special talent. Christiana's intricate and exquisitely rendered drawings, executed in mostly soft watercolors, have an Old World look. Each jointed limb and doll face claims its own space in the tale. Poppy is almost mannequinlike himself. He is as long and spindly as many of his marionettes; only his hands are large and workmanlike. There is something new to see with every viewing, be it turned-up toes on footwear or masks on Poppy's knees. Because of its length and style, this book may not have a wide audience, but it will be treasured by the right child.
Harriett Fargnoli, Great Neck Library, NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
