Jan Huling

I don't normally like modernized re-tellings of classic folk or fairy tales, but today, I do. Perhaps it's the Old South feeling that Jan Huling has given to this bluesy rendition of the famous Brothers Grimm tale, The Town Musicians of Bremen, or perhaps it's the very appealing cover art and the endearing oil renditions of the rag-tag crew (I particularly like One-Eyed Lemony Cat. He wears a patch over one eye!),

"Rusty Red Rooster - whose voice sounded like a player piano bein' hit with an show more ax - and One-Eyed Lemony Cat- whose voice sounded like a fiddle bein' played with a carvin' knife - and Gnarly Dog - whose voice sounded like a guit-tar bein' scraped with a washboard - and Ol' Bloo Donkey - whose voice sounded like an accordion fallin' down the stairs,"

who head out from the fields with a notion to sing in a New Orleans honky-tonk. Of course, just as in the original Grimm story, they end up scaring off some robbers, but in Ol' Bloo's Boogie-Woogie Band and Blues Ensemble, the robbers are not in the German forests, they are inside a cabin at a table filled with

"gumbo and etouffee, muffaletta and po-boys, praline and bread puddin', and more besides. And sittin' 'round that table were three rough, tough, ugly-lookin' thieves, jest glarin' at one another and pickin' their teeth with their knives."

And though they didn't look like music lovers, Ol' Bloo's band sets up and starts in singing - their very first gig! And you know the rest of the story - the Blues Ensemble never did make it to the Big Easy, but they "sang in harmony for the rest of their days" in the old cabin.

The easy-going, laid-back language of the south adds some welcome down home American comfort to this old story that I actually remember disliking as a child. However, in a nod to older versions, classic silhouettes of the troupe in the various stages of its journey appear under the text on the page facing the painted illustrations of the animals in their more colorful Southern habitat.

Fun and funny!
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In danger of being put out of his misery by his master, Ol’ Bloo Donkey decides to head on down to New Orleans where folks have a keen appreciation of music, like his “beee-yooo-ti-ful singin’ voice.” On his way he encounters Gnarly Dog, One-Eyed Lemony Cat, and Rusty Red Rooster, who are in similar straits, and join with him in his endeavor. But then an encounter with “three rough, tough, ugly-lookin’ thieves” in a cabin make the trip unnecessary.

Huling’s excellent adaption show more and retelling of the Grimms’ tale of Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (The Bremen Town Musicians) set “out where the great states of Louisiana and Texas rub shoulders” does for Louisiana and East Texas what her Puss in Cowboy Boots did for West Texas, take a European tale and perfectly translate it into an American idiom. show less

What a fun and creative retelling of the traditional story of Puss in Boots. This version is set in Texas and gives the southern vibe to it. As I was reading the text, I had to read it in an southern accent including the word, "Y'all". It made me laugh because you have to talk southern while reading a southern book. This book is interesting and quite funny, but i may be difficult for children to understand the southern slang if they aren't from the south. As I picked up this book, I imagine show more Puss in Boots from Shrek with big eyes. But as I was reading the illustrations were set in Texas and the Cat looked nothing like the classic Puss in Boots. It can teach kids that you can always change the classic fairy tales into anything you want. show less

After being feared that his owner was going to kill him Ol'Bloo Donkey decided to leave his home and head to New Orleans to become a singer. Along the way to New Orleans he meets up with Gnarly Dog, One Eyed Lemony Cat, and Rusty Red Rooster. These four animals decide to start up their own singing quartet. The quartet never makes it to New Orleans, instead they find a home in a place they never expected. This was a very fun book to read. There was some repition in the book which made it fun show more for young readers. This would be a great book to read when discussing fiction and non-fiction. show less