Fig’s Giant by Geraldine McCaughrean - Reviewed! February 2, 2006

Fig’s Giant by Geraldine McCaughreanOriginally uploaded by Jagosilver.

Thanks to June on the UK Illustrator’s Group for bringing this my attention

Book Review: “Fig’s Giant” by Geraldine McCaughrean

Fig’s Giant
by Geraldine McCaughrean
illustrated by Jago

Hardcover
40 pages
from 6th October 2005
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
ISBN: 0-19-279130-3
£12.99

The Story

Fig is beachcombing one day when two brown towers rise up from the sand…so Fig begins her adventures with Gulliver, because the towers are the giant’s shoes…

---

Bridget’s Review

Based on the Lilliput adventure from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, the story centres on Fig, a Lilliputian girl, who befriends and defends the giant, Gulliver. A delightful book… McCaughrean stays within the spirit and detail of Swift’s story, whilst adding the delightfully feisty small girl Fig, and her dog Tolgo.

(darker dragging and background marbling….) another Myron Review! January 18, 2006

T H E B U L L E T I N

OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY

AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

December 16, 2005

Newman, Marlene M Barefoot, 2005 [40p] Myron’s Magic Cow; illus. by Jago.

ISBN 1841484962 $16.99

Reviewed from galleys R 6-10yrs

During an ordinary (and reluctant) trip to the store for milk, Myron meets a pushy blonde who trades him a cow for money, then takes off in a bright pink car with three bears. Astonished city‑kid Myron (who has never seen let alone owned a real cow) is even more surprised when the cow begins to speak and grant wishes, Audiences will quickly recognize that there is some fairy‑tale spoofery going on; while this type of satire is familiar, Myron’s tale highlights the absurd, bringing familiar characters (Jack, Goldilocks, the bears) to a city setting and confronting hapless but unfazeable Myron with bizarre circumstances, while never losing sight of the child‑centered concern that his mom is waiting for milk,… Myron’s final wish that “someone else would have to go to the store once in a while” is pure kid‑think, and the story has just the right level of tongue-in‑cheek humor. Jago’s striking illustrations offer a bold color palette (muted and textured by darker dragging and background marbling) and naively drawn figures and objects; the sparse layouts and skewed scale (the vast backgrounds and the large, boxy cow loom over tiny Myron) add to the surreal feel of the story. Imaginative kids who use make‑believe to counteract the drudgery of day‑to‑day life will especially enjoy seeing Myron’s unusual encounter and eventual mini‑triumph. MH

NEWMAN, Marlene. Myron’s Magic Cow‑ illus. by Jago. unpaged.

Myron Reviewed in Books For Keeps January 17, 2006

Myron Reviewed in Books For Keeps
Originally uploaded by Jagosilver.

…and here’s another review, sent to me by the nice people at Barefoot Books.

Foreword Magazine - Myron review January 17, 2006

Foreword Magazine - Myron review
Originally uploaded by Jagosilver.

Here’s a rather nice review passed on from the author.

Myron’s Magic Cow
by: Marlene Newman with Jago, illustrator

Issue Year:
Category: Children’s Picturebook
Publisher: Barefoot Books

Color illustrations

40 pages

Hardcover $16.99

ISBN: 1841484962

A yellow-haired girl, whose traveling companions are three bears, is bad news. A surprise is in store for anyone who takes her up on her offer of a great deal on a cow. In addition to the humorous tone of the story, this can be a lesson to children to be careful about talking to strangers.

Myron feels like he is the only one Mama ever asks to go to the store when she runs out of something. Little does he know, but when she needs milk for pancakes one morning, Myron will bring home more than he went to the store to get. After some crafty trading on the part of the golden-haired con artist, Myron ends up amazed by an offer of his choice of milk. (“What’ll you have—regular, skim, or one percent?” Well spoken for a cow.)

The author spent nineteen years teaching elementary school reading, writing, and library skills in New York, and enjoying every type of book that libraries had to offer. While Myron’s Magic Cow is her first children’s book, she treasured the times she read with her children, grandchildren, and many students over the years. This story about a magical cow who grants a little boy’s wishes was originally written as a play for students. The real magic that Newman shares is her love of words.

The illustrator’s art has graced many children’s books with fairy tale-like themes. While most of his work is at least partially digitalized, he adds a personal feel by harmonizing paint, photography, and pencil for his unique style. His artwork evokes a giddy reaction with mysterious undertones. Jago may be best known for his children’s artwork in Brave Tales, Ltd. books like Tom and the Giant, Madgy Figgy’s Pig, and Lutey and the Mermaid.

Throughout Myron’s Magic Cow, smart-aleck repartee from skewed fairytale characters erupts. (“‘Listen,’ the girl continued, ‘there are already three bears in my car and the cow just won’t fit. You need milk and I need money—so let’s cut a deal.’”) As one storybook figure after another shows up, Myron is in the dark about most of their identities. He just wants to get to the store and back so his mom can make the pancakes. Excitement is just around the corner when his newfound friend, the magic cow, offers him three wishes.

In the tradition of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, Myron’s Magic Cow will make reading fun, and some kids may offer to run errands for their mothers. (December)

Review by: Katie Klein

5 panel illustrations…. December 22, 2005

Page 06 & 07
Originally uploaded by Jagosilver.

Here’s the “five panel illustrations” that “British artist, Jago” used…as mentioned in the review below…

Myron’s Magic Cow…another review December 22, 2005

Myron’s Magic Cow
Originally uploaded by Jagosilver.

The author,(Marlene Newman) just sent me this review of Myron’s Magic Cow from Publisher’s Weekly 12/19/05

MYRON’S MAGIC COW

Marlene Newman, illus. by Jago. Barefoot, $16.99 (40pp) ISBN 1-84148-496-2

Mundane reality and the fantastic combine as a boy encounters some familiar characters in Newman’s fanciful debut. When Myron’s mother sends him for milk (”Out of the apartment, down the hall, into the elevator, through the lobby and up the busy street he went”), British artist Jago uses five panel illustrations to heighten the drama in the routine errand, hinting that bigger things await.
Surprise indeed lurks around the corner: a blonde girl with a giant cow approaches Myron, explaining, “A dopey guy who said his name was Jack just traded her with me…. You need milk and I need money-so let’s cut a deal.” Myron suddenly finds himself holding the cow’s leash while the girl and three bears zoom off in a car.
On the way home the cow talks, then reveals herself to be a genie, granting Marvin three wishes (e.g., someone else has to run errands for a while).
Jago’s uncluttered full-bleed spreads and carefully framed vignettes charmingly convey the extraordinary in the ordinary, as when Myron, calling “I’ll be there in a minute, Mama,” sits on a stool milking the cow whose leash hangs from the apartment radiator.
If the tale takes a circuitous route, the artwork stays right on target, credibly integrating imaginative elements into a child’s everyday world.
Ages 7-9. (Sept.)

Daily Mail Fig review December 22, 2005

Daily Mail Fig review
Originally uploaded by Jagosilver.

Now, although I am loathe to admit it, I have a reason to like The Daily Mail…. They’ve reviewed Fig and although they didn’t mention my name, they did say I was handsome…or was that the illustrations..

Independant ABC Fig Review December 21, 2005

Independant ABC Fig Review
Originally uploaded by Jagosilver.

The Independant on Sunday have reviewed Fig’s Giant, (they also reviewed Myron, here). It’s brief but it does say my pictures are WONDERFUL, so that’s good.

Myron Venue Mag Review December 21, 2005

Myron Venue Mag Review
Originally uploaded by Jagosilver.

Yet another review for Myron’s Magic Cow, and it’s a goodun! (Click the pic for a larger, readable version on Flickr)

Click here to buy it on Amzon….or support your local bookshop.

Myron in the new Barefoot Books catalogue! October 31, 2005

Myron in the new Barefoot Books catalogue!
Originally uploaded by Jagosilver.

Here’s the bit about Myron’s Magic Cow from the latest Barefoot Books catalogue, click here to buy it….go on!