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Death in a Nut
Hardback
Main Details
| Title |
Death in a Nut
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| Authors and Contributors |
By (author) Eric Maddern
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Illustrated by Paul Hess
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| Physical Properties |
| Format:Hardback | | Pages:32 | | Dimensions(mm): Height 270,Width 214 |
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| ISBN/Barcode |
9781845070816
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| Classifications | Dewey:823.914 |
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| Audience | |
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| Illustrations |
Illustrations
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Publishing Details |
| Publisher |
Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd
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| Imprint |
Frances Lincoln Childrens Books
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| Publication Date |
1 February 2005 |
| Publication Country |
United Kingdom
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Description
When Jack meets Old Man Death coming towards his cottage, he realises at once what's up. "You're not taking my old mother!" he cries, and hits out at Death with his fists. With each punch, Death gets smaller and smaller, until Jack is able to squeeze him inside a hazelnut shell. He throws the nut far out to sea, and goes home...Then the trouble begins: eggs won't break, the cockerel's head won't be wrung and the butcher confesses that he can't slaughter any livestock. What has Jack done? How he discovers one of life's basic truths - that without Death there can be no Life - is delightfully retold by professional storyteller Eric Maddern, while Paul Hess's artwork gives a glorious comic lift to a thoughtful story.
Author Biography
Eric Maddern has written many books for Frances Lincoln including The King with Horse's Ears (illustrated by Paul Hess), Spirit of the Forest (with Paul Hess), Curious Clownfish and Rainbow Bird. The Fire Children, illustrated by Frane Lessac, was chosen for Junior Education Books of the Year 1993 and selected for Children's Books of the Year 1994. Paul Hess's books include Josephine People's Jack and the Beanstalk, Alan MacDonald's Pig in a Wig and Malachy Doyle's The Great Castle of Marshmangle and The King with Horse's Ears, by Eric Maddern. His first book for Frances Lincoln was Hidden Tales from Eastern Europe, by Antonia Barber.
ReviewsMaddern's unsettling retelling of this traditional tale is complemented by Paul Hess's memorable illustrations Observer A thought-provoking story, lightly told and with striking illustrations by Paul Hess Guardian Kirkus Review US:Maddern smoothly retells a tale learned from Scots storyteller Duncan Williamson. Young Jack meets Death on the beach and stuffs it into a hazelnut shell that he casts out to sea. He returns home to find his ailing mother suddenly much better-but eggs no longer break, vegetables can't be sliced, and the cockerel can't be killed. Hess gives his painted scenes a remote, formal feel by pulling back the point of view and placing Jack in lonely-looking vistas of beach or field. Death is a ragged, capering old man in black who, when the penny finally drops and Jack recovers the nut, springs out, makes the central point explicit-"You thought by getting rid of me, you'd stop all the troubles in the world! But without me, my boy, there can be no life"-and then genially allows Jack's mother to live to a ripe old age. Like Yugi Morales's Just a Minute (2003), this may help to make the Reaper a little less Grim for younger readers. (Picture book/folktale. 7-9) (Kirkus Reviews)
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