Evaline Ness (1911–1986)

The winner of the Caldecott Medal, in 1967, Sam, Bangs & Moonshine is a lovely little picture-book that follows the story of fisherman's daughter Sam (Samantha), whose penchant for telling lies - or making "Moonshine" - leads her into trouble one stormy day. Constantly making up stories - about her mermaid mother (her real mother is dead), her chariot drawn by dragons (the everyday rug in her house) - Sam uses the world of make-believe to cope with a reality that isn't always easy to face. show more But when her stories about her baby kangaroo put her young neighbor Thomas - who believes them implicitly - and her beloved cat Bangs in real danger, Sam must confront the fact that sometimes "moonshine" can hurt, as much as it helps...

Although I have read a number of folktale adaptations illustrated by Evaline Ness - Algernon D. Black's The Woman of the Wood: A Tale From Old Russia, Charles Scribner, Jr.'s The Devil's Bridge: A Legend - this was the first book both written and illustrated by Ness that I have encountered. I have to say, I am very impressed! I found the narrative to be a sensitive and moving portrait of a young girl's first encounter with true consequences (although thankfully, all ends happily!), and the illustrations - done in black and white, with color accents in brown and grayish-blue - perfectly suited to the tale, accentuating the emotion of each scene. The style here is somewhat vintage, and not something I would normally find outstanding, but somehow - here - it all works. This one definitely deserved the Caldecott, I think! show less

Chosen for the illustrator, but it turns out I enjoyed the poems even more. 'About the authors' says, "all reflect the poets' understanding and appreciation for the individuality of women." Four decades later it's still not common enough to see girls and women as people in books, but as types, and so this book is still valuable.

And it's fun, and charming, and appealing, too. Ages five to 105.

I particularly recommend The Quiet Child by Rachel Field to several of you, my friends... ;)

Also show more included are works by:
Nikki Giovanni
Gertrude Stein
Eleanor Farjeon
Ogden Nash
etc. show less

The story is fine, though one has to wonder what the goatherd sees in the silly girl. The ending is so thoroughly happy one can only assume it turns into an HEA. But the art is incredible. I particularly love the page of the now-beautiful girl at court, on a throne-like chair with her head outlined by an ornate picture-frame.

But the language is the best thing of all, as hinted by the title. It's musical in its rhythm, and the colloquial vocabulary is fascinating. For example "Don't naggle show more yourself" for "Don't worry." I would have loved this so much when I was a child, I'm rounding up 3.5 stars for her sake.

I'm not sure which of you, my friends, would like it, but if you can get it from your library I do recommend that you do so, if only to keep them from weeding it. show less

I'm glad it's not Disneyfied. But I'm still disappointed. Even though I'm normally a fan of Ness, I can hardly make out even the characters in the illustrations, much less the details. And there's no note saying where exactly the text is from - it's fun to read aloud and it seems Ness must have adapted it, or told it from memory. And, as is often the problem in Rumplestiltskin tales, if the imp is gone, and the king is not cured of his greed, what will happen next time he wants the bride to show more do some special spinning?

Scholars, folk-tale completists, fans of wood-cut art... I do recommend you see if your library has this. Definitely interesting. Just not very good, imo. show less