Annie Auerbach

Grizelda the Green hates Halloween in this rhyming holiday picture book from author A.A. Livingston (AKA Annie Auerbach) and illustrator Katya Longhi. Sick of children knocking on her door each year while trick-or-treating, she decides to put a stop to the holiday once and for all, first smashing all the jack-o-lanterns, then destroying the streetlights, and finally turning the trick-or-treaters' candy to slime. Imagine her surprise when she discovers that the children are so enchanted by show more her magic, that they don't care at all! Can they convert this witch to loving Halloween...?

I liked the premise of Grizelda the Green Hates Halloween, which I don't believe I've come across before. I've encountered stories about witches who cannot participate in Halloween, for one reason or another, and those who are more scared than scary, but the idea of a witch just hating the holiday is a novel one. I also liked the rhyming text, which reads well, and which would make for a good story time selection. Unfortunately, I didn't care for the illustrations, done in Photoshop, as they felt flat and uninspired to me, but tastes vary, so some other readers might feel differently. I'd recommend this one as a fun new Halloween tale, with the proviso that it's the story and text I'm recommending, rather than the artwork. show less

This collection of short stories reprints and adapts a bunch of stories that I own in other collections or from their original, individual publication. In the spirit of recycling, I'll be cutting-and-pasting my original reviews when applicable.

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 show more 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... ) show less

A fun story about Elijah Muddle, the son of a bad tempered and abusive manure farmer, who in an act desperation, becomes the hapless apprentice of the King's warlock. The problem is every one of Elijah's spells go awry and according to Caliban, the warlock, it's because the channel through which Elijah's magic flows is twisted and full of kinks.

Elijah works out a spell to fix his magic, only to cause more havoc and accidentally kills his teacher in the process. Our young hero isn't one to show more give up, however, and with help of his friends, Marcus and Tori, Elijah sets out to make things right.

While not a laugh out loud funny story, this has just the right amount of humor, absurd situations, and Tori's unique worldview to keep the story from getting too bogged down by the genuine issues it covers: growing up, accepting responsibility for actions taken, and being able to ask for help, among other things. show less

Delivering mail packs friendly moments and a hint of adventure in this fun read.

Mr. Zip is off with his feathered helper, B. Franklin, to deliver the mail. This is a task both enjoy as they meet many familiar people. When the wind picks up and sends some of the mail flying, Mr. Zip is determined to find each letter and bring it where it belongs.

Mr. Zip and B. Franklin radiate positivity and joy for their work. The smiles and greetings as they bring letters from one person to the next holds show more a simple goodness and neighborliness. The small adventure adds just the right amount of tension, while staying very age appropriate. Plus, the doors offer peeking fun and discovery on each page.

It's well made with bright illustrations. The text fits well to the intended age group and flows with a hint of rhyme. It's a cute read. I received a DRC and found this cutely and nicely done especially for its purpose. show less