Booklist starred (September 1, 2010 (Vol. 107, No. 1))
Preschool-Grade 2. Children who know Angelica Longrider, the “wildest wildcat in Tennessee” in the Caldecott Honor Book Swamp Angel (1994), will cheer her return in this sequel, which sends the barefoot, bear-wrestling giant to Montana. After rearranging a mountain or two, Angel feels settled in her new home. All she needs is a horse powerful enough to support her Himalayan size, and she finds her answer when a dust storm hits in the summer of 1835. Leaping onto the swirling funnel clouds of grime, she wrestles the storm until it magically takes equine shape and becomes Dust Devil, her trusty sidekick, who arrives just in time to help her take on a team of larger-than-life bandits, led by Backward Bart. Once again, Isaacs’ story and Zelinsky’s oil-paint-on-wood artwork create a laugh-out-loud tall tale with folksy phrasing and slapstick exaggeration. There are really two adventures in one here, which makes for a lengthy read-aloud, but children will delight in the deadpan, Old West narration and every gleefully silly, expertly rendered visual detail, from Bart’s steed (a saloon-sized mosquito) to Angel’s full-branched pine-tree knitting needles. A few pourqoui elements wrap up this handsomely designed, thoroughly entertaining stand-alone sequel.
Preschool-Grade 2. Children who know Angelica Longrider, the “wildest wildcat in Tennessee” in the Caldecott Honor Book Swamp Angel (1994), will cheer her return in this sequel, which sends the barefoot, bear-wrestling giant to Montana. After rearranging a mountain or two, Angel feels settled in her new home. All she needs is a horse powerful enough to support her Himalayan size, and she finds her answer when a dust storm hits in the summer of 1835. Leaping onto the swirling funnel clouds of grime, she wrestles the storm until it magically takes equine shape and becomes Dust Devil, her trusty sidekick, who arrives just in time to help her take on a team of larger-than-life bandits, led by Backward Bart. Once again, Isaacs’ story and Zelinsky’s oil-paint-on-wood artwork create a laugh-out-loud tall tale with folksy phrasing and slapstick exaggeration. There are really two adventures in one here, which makes for a lengthy read-aloud, but children will delight in the deadpan, Old West narration and every gleefully silly, expertly rendered visual detail, from Bart’s steed (a saloon-sized mosquito) to Angel’s full-branched pine-tree knitting needles. A few pourqoui elements wrap up this handsomely designed, thoroughly entertaining stand-alone sequel.
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