School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-A poor homeless girl, known only as "Scraps-and-Smells" or "Skin-and-Bones" or "Sweets-and-Treats," is barely tolerated by the townspeople. When a terrifying Ogre comes to the town gate demanding a bride, the frightened villagers quickly choose her as their offering. But this girl is not as dimwitted as she might seem, and she cleverly manages to get the best of both the foul Ogre and the ungrateful townspeople. The writing is vivid, incorporating some rhyming verse and some delicious vocabulary, making the story especially well suited for reading aloud. The descriptions are sometimes harsh and compelling: "-sometimes she would beg and sometimes she would starve-." Strong ink outlines add energy to the watercolor illustrations, aptly conveying the events of the dramatic text. Cole is a master at depicting the emotions of the characters, both animal and human. This engaging story and its resourceful heroine will appeal to many children.-Robin L. Gibson, Granville Parent Cooperative Preschool, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
As in Larky Mavis, Cole introduces an eccentric village misfit who emerges a heroine. The bedraggled lass lives on the streets, selling "stale buns and paper birds," begging for food ("Sometimes she would starve") and singing aloud, much to the displeasure of the villagers who alternately dub her Scraps-and-Smells, Skin-and-Bones or Sweets-and-Treats. The mayor, an impotently compassionate patriarch adorned in purple finery, won't let them run her out of town, claiming, "The poor are always with us, and no good deed goes unrewarded." When a foul ogre threatens to ravage the village if he isn't given a maiden to wed, the residents gladly offer up the gawky young woman, whom they truss up in an ill-fitting gown and battered paper crown. The creature rejects her on sight, but she slyly persuades the townsfolk that the ogre wants both a dowry and a sharp sword. After the ogre swallows maiden, gold and jewels, and sword, the heroine slays the creature and outwits the villagers to strike off on her own, fully equipped with treasure. Cole speeds the action with his bustling ink-and-watercolor washes of the villagers, none of them who seems to pause, neither the well-dressed man who claps his hand over his purse when asked for help nor the plump lady with the disapproving expressions. In both text and art, Cole indicts the hypocritical villagers and delivers an original fairy tale with lingering emotional resonance. Ages 5-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved