Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-7. The familiar tale of the Dutch boy whose finger blocked a leaking dike is reinterpreted by Hort and Locker in a commanding mood piece. Locker's paintings are, of course, center stage. His luminous landscapes, as in Where the River Begins (Booklist 81:591 D 15 84), continue to dominate the pages, but there is welcome evidence of attention to other elements. A pair of meticulous interior scenes (reminiscent of Jan Vermeer) lends relief from the panoramic outdoor vistas that the artist relies on, as does a scene of the village square. The landscapes are riveting the night scene of the soon-to-be-exhausted boy lying beside the dike while storm clouds gather, for example, is striking. But at times the emphasis on nature rather than people seems both misplaced and repetitive. The people and their actions are too important for landscapes to almost always hold sway. It's clear that Locker can deviate from his preferred natural vistas with considerable success; however, a little more balance would have strengthened the presentation. Still, a new picture-book version of an episode in Mary Mapes Dodge's Hans Brinker will be welcomed, and Locker delivers a compelling rendition. Also worthwhile for older children extending their art appreciation. DMW. Netherlands Fiction [CIP] 86-32893
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This retelling of the traditional Dutch folktale is coupled with Locker's masterful oil paintings, which recall well-known works such as Rembrandt's ``Night Watch'' and several Vermeers. A little boy, Pieter, is sent to his room because he has misbehaved. So his grandmother tells him of another bad boy, Jan, who held back the sea. Pieter serves merely as the framework for the account of the legend, which distances readers from the action. The scenery is magnificentluminous skies, light-infused landscapes, a tumultuous seacreating a chiaroscuro effect that recalls the Dutch masters. However, Jan is merely a detail in the paintings. The real thrust of the taleJan's mischief, his fear at the discovery of the leak, his determination, his misery through the night, the suffering and then pride of his parentsis lost in the paintings; the text is overshadowed by the grand scale of the artwork. All ages. (September) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3 Grandmother tells Pieter, who has been sent to his room, the story of The Boy Who Held Back the Sea. Hort's adaptation of a story that appears in Mary Mapes Dodge's Hans Brinker is significantly longer with numerous changes and embellishments. More complex characters have been created, removing the story from the realm of fable and placing it into fiction. Jan is depicted as a troublemaker who tells tales about sea serpents to the dike's watchmen, plays hookey from church, and throws a rock through a school windowa complete opposite from the sunny-haired boy of gentle disposition who reads to a blind man in Hans Brinker. Both, however, become heroes when they observe a hole in the dike and plug it with a finger. Locker's arresting oil paintings, with their dramatic clouds, towering trees, and natural diffused lighting are suggestive of the 17th-Century Dutch landscape paintings made famous by Jacob van Ruisdael. The posed figures and the meticulously depicted objects in the opening and closing scenes are particularly reminiscent of Vermeer. Locker's depiction of nature overpowering humanity is especially significant to the story and to the Dutch people who have spent centuries battling the sea. Karen K. Radtke, Milwaukee Public Lib . (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In his paintings, Locker turns to homage of such 17th-century Dutch masters as Vermeer and Hobbema to illustrate the familiar story of the boy who staved off disaster with a finger in the dike. Familiar to American children at least since it was incorporated in Hans Brinker, this tale has long needed a felicitous retelling; unfortunately, though this one is acceptably straightforward, it is ploddingly unimaginative in spite of several embellishments: Jan, who has a reputation as a mischief, making truant, is at first not believed, a problem made all the worse when his first rescuer, a local ne'er-do-well, is impounded by the Night Watch for his pains. And Jan's sudden reformation at the end seems unmotivated. Locker's paintings are, as usual, skillful but static; in this instance, his style seems well adapted to the story. As it happens, Gardam's Through the Dolls' House Door (see above) contains a more creatively inspired embroidery on this old favorite. But, until the perfect picture-book edition comes along, this Locker/Hort rendition should serve well. And since the illustrations will appeal to all ages, it will be useful for older readers in need of easy texts. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
