Edna Mitchell Preston

When her mother goes out to visit Mrs. Hen one night, Little Goose disobeys her instructions, getting out of bed and running down to the pond for a swim. When that celestial body is hidden by a fox-shaped cloud, the goslings wakes the farmer, thinking the moon has been eaten. Told to go to bed, Little Goose instead stays up, and seeing the moon reflected in the pond, thinks that it has fallen into the water. Disturbing the farmer once again, she is told in no uncertain terms to cease and show more desist. So it is that, when a real fox takes her, there is no aid for the Little Goose, and she must find a way to trick her vulpine enemy and escape his clutches...

An enjoyable story from Edna Mitchell Preston is paired with delightfully charming artwork from illustrator Barbara Cooney in Squawk to the Moon, Little Goose. The text has an engaging rhythm to it, with just enough repetition to feel slightly song-like, and the conclusion will give young readers and listeners the satisfaction of seeing the trickster tricked. Little Goose's stratagem reminded me a bit of the Aesopic fable of The Fox, The Moon, and the River, in which the vulpine character imagines the moon's reflection in a river is a cheese, causing her to attempt to drink the river dry in order to get to it. It's much more common in folklore however, to have the fox trick another (usually a wolf) into believing that the moon's reflection is a cheese, and there is an episode to that effect in the French Reynardian tradition. Recommended to any picture-book readers who enjoy folkloric-feeling tales, and to fans of Barbara Cooney's artwork. show less

A robber, a ghost, a witch, a scarecrow, a skeleton and a jack-o-lantern all go sneaking down the road one dark night in this deliciously spooky Halloween picture-book. Then they are stopped in their tracks by a suspicious and scary squeaking noise, and beat a hasty retreat to their homes, leaving the street to the creature that frightened them...

Although Edna Mitchell Preston's rhythmic text never explicitly spells it out, the spooky and charming artwork from illustrator Kurt Werth makes it show more plain that One Dark Night occurs on Halloween. The ostensible robber, ghost, witch, scarecrow, skeleton and jack-o-lantern are revealed as trick-or-treaters in the final illustration, and their flight is made humorous by the source of the squeaking: a tiny mouse. Although I wouldn't described this one as a personal Halloween favorite, from a narrative perspective, I did find it entertaining, and the delightful artwork from Werth lifted it from a three to a four-star book. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for Halloween picture-books that are both spooky and humorous. show less

A little bluebird goes hopping, skipping, jumping and flying along in this sing-song picture-book from author Edna Mitchell Preston and illustrator Barbara Cooney, a hungry cat following behind him at every stage. Although the feline keeps trying to overtake his prey, his pounces inevitably come just a bit too late, and he finds that he cannot take to the air in pursuit. Hungry and sad, he heads home, and the final illustration shows him being fed...

Much as with Preston's Pop Corn and Ma show more Goodness, the text of The Sad Story of the Little Bluebird and the Hungry Cat has a pleasing rhythm, rhyme scheme and repetitive structure, making it a good candidate for reading aloud. I appreciated the fact that the bluebird escaped at the end, but wasn't sure how I felt about the conclusion, in which the cat returns to his home, where he is clearly well-fed. The book was published in 1975, when there was less of an emphasis on keeping cats indoors, but the story here certainly emphasizes the potential danger that domesticated cats pose for songbirds. Leaving that aside, the accompanying artwork from Cooney here was appealing, although I wouldn't say it was as good as some of her better-known books. Recommended to picture-book readers who enjoy rhythmic tales, and to Barbara Cooney fans. show less

A series of animals throw a temper tantrum in rhyme in this amusing picture-book from 1969. From Lionel Lion, who doesn't like to have the tangles in his hair combed, to Thomas Q. Tiger, who doesn't care to be groomed too roughly, each animal vents their anger, before explaining what the trouble is. Only Henrietta Hippopotamus, whose mother allows her to wallow in the mud, is happy and content...

With a rhyming text from author Edna Mitchell Preston, and colorful artwork from illustrator show more Rainey Bennett, The Temper Tantrum Book would make an excellent read-aloud at story-time. The question/answer format of the story works very well, allowing the reader to appreciate the humorous side of the bad behavior first, and then revealing what is causing it. I don't know that this really has a very clear didactic purpose - if the lesson is to learn self control, even when frustrated, why is the only well-behaved animal child the one who is allowed to do as she pleases? - but it is nevertheless a sympathetic depiction of an all-too-common childhood occurrence: the temper tantrum. Recommended to those seeking picture-books for younger children, especially ones featuring childlike frustration. show less