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Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
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| 33607002082512 | Picture Books | DEPAOLA | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
While his wife is away, a lazy man relies on a pooka to clean up the messes that he and his friends make.
Author Notes
Tomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut on September 15, 1934. He received a B.F.A. from Pratt Institute in 1956, a M.F.A. from California College of Arts and Crafts in 1969, and a doctoral equivalency from Lone Mountain College in 1970.
He has written and/or illustrated more than 270 books including 26 Fairmount Avenue, Strega Nona, Meet the Barkers, Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs, and Oliver Button Is a Sissy. He has received numerous awards for his work including the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure. His murals and paintings can be seen in many churches and monasteries throughout New England. He has designed greeting cards, magazine and record album covers, and theater sets. His work is shown in galleries and museums.
Tomie dePaola died on March 30, 2020 because of complications he had from surgery after a fall.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-Still no more energetic than in Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato (Putnam, 1992), the laziest man in Ireland has the perfect plan for keeping his cottage tidy while his wife is away-he'll simply stay in bed and get up only to eat. When his pals arrive with a jug of cider and hearty appetites, Jamie finds himself with a messy cottage and the exhausting prospect of cleaning up. During the night, a pooka comes and clears away all evidence of the evening's party. The donkeylike creature returns each night to tidy up. Curious, Jamie asks why he is being so kind. He explains that he is being punished for laziness in a past life. Jamie is moved to perform a kind deed in return, which he immediately regrets-the pooka is now free and the indolent man is left alone just in time for Eileen to return to the mess. In some scenes, dePaola's liquid acrylic paintings spill over their frames onto the white space surrounding them. Particularly frenzied activity, like the pooka's midnight house cleaning, is depicted in multiple frames that resemble a comic strip. The pooka, with his wild yellow eyes and toothy grimace, looks sinister enough to satisfy young readers who enjoy a scare, while Jamie's cat's and dog's facial expressions reflect their owner's changing moods. A concluding author's note explaining the story's origins in Irish folklore is a satisfying addition to an enjoyable original tale.-Ginny Gustin, Santa Monica Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Lazy but lovable Jamie O'Rourke, last seen harvesting a spectacular spud in Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato, returns in this dandy original Irish folktale. When Jamie's wife goes to visit her sister for a few days, she leaves a well-stocked larder: "All you'll have to do," she tells him, "is the washin' up each night and give a quick swipe of the broom every now and then." Never one to do a lick of work, Jamie doesn't lift a finger, even when he and his cronies make a walloping mess. While Jamie sleeps, a mysterious donkey-like creature creeps in and quickly puts the place in tip-top shape. Jamie soon discovers the creature is a pooka, an animal spirit atoning for misdeeds in a past life. Thinking to spur on the pooka with an added incentive, Jamie gives him a present--but the pooka leaves the cottage forever, rewarded for its work. DePaola's jaunty storytelling pace and his snappy Irish phrases give this tale extra sparkle. A master of vibrant acrylics that brim with child appeal, dePaola evokes the rolling countryside and earthy settings of the Emerald Isle of yore. From cozy to rollicking to suspenseful, he changes mood and scene with ease. Jamie's high-spirited pals exhibit a liberal wearin' o' the green and an endless taste for cider, which may fall under stereotype in some minds, but is all in good fun here. Ages 4-8. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved