Boo Stew

by Donna L. Washington, Jeffrey Ebbeler (Illustrator)

Overview

Award-winning storyteller Donna L. Washington has cooked up a delightfully spooky tale in this imaginative twist on the classic "Goldilocks."

Curly Locks is a good-hearted girl, but she's an awful cook. All the townspeople of Toadsuck Swamp know to steer clear of her peculiar dishes—like batwing brownies and toad eye toffees. So it's quite a mystery when one of her dishes goes missing from her windowsill.

Next morning, chaos breaks out in town and word spreads how the Scares of Toadsuck Swamp are running wild and terrorizing the town at mealtime. They shriek "Gitchey Boo, Gitchey Bon! Gitchey Goo, Gitchey Gone!" and send folk running for their lives! But Curly Locks isn't frightened, and she has an inkling her unsavory cooking can help corral those Scares for good.

Exercising tremendous narrative skill, internationally known storyteller Donna L. Washington breathes a spirited new life into an old classic. Her clever, can-do protagonist and joyful language pair brilliantly with Jeffrey Ebbeler's fantasy-like illustrations. This enchanting read is a treat for any time of the year!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682637470
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	08/27/2024
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	195,231
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.10(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Donna L. Washington is a professional storyteller, multiple-award-winning recording artist, and children's book author. She performs all over the country at festivals, schools, and libraries and gives workshops for parents and educators. A graduate of Northwestern University with a BS in speech, she has won numerous awards for her storytelling recordings. She lives with her family in North Carolina, where they have a wonderful time coming up with stories together over meals.

Jeffrey Ebbeler, a graduate of Art Academy of Cincinnati, has been creating art for children for almost twenty years and has illustrated over fifty books. After college he worked for a puppet theater sculpting marionettes and performing. He also created many large-scale animal puppets for the Central Park Zoo. He lives in Ohio.

Editorial Reviews

09/01/2021

K-Gr 2—Curly Locks loves to cook, but none of the townsfolk like her dishes of batwing brownies or cat hair cupcakes. Though she's a little dejected, she continues to concoct her dishes. Meanwhile, the mayor is trying to enjoy his breakfast when a Scare, an inky creature from Toadsuck Swamp, appears and frightens him away from his home. The mayor seeks help from the Blacksmith, who tries to frighten away the Scare. But a bigger Scare comes along and terrifies the Blacksmith. Then, the chicken rancher tries to spook the Scares away, only to encounter an enormous third creature. Maybe Curly Locks's dishes are just what the mayor needs to get rid of the creatures. This is a fun story about pursuing one's passions even when other people might not understand. Luckily, Curly Locks has the support of her mother, and her love of cooking saves the day. The story features a diverse cast, and character have a range of skin tones and body types. The characters' exaggerated body proportions add the right amount of humor, while the inky and spooky Scares are the stuff of nightmares. These character styles complement each other well and make for an enjoyable read. VERDICT A girl's unique cooking style saves the day in this fun Halloween read sure to entertain in any season.—Myiesha Speight, formerly at Towson Univ., Baltimore

School Library Journal

2021-07-14
Will Curly Locks find anyone who appreciates her cooking?

Unlike most residents of Toadsuck, Curly Locks doesn’t mind the Scares, shadowlike creatures who inhabit the swamp. They keep to themselves, other than their “hootin’ and hollerin’,” which can annoy folks at night. Curly Locks only cares about cooking. But for some reason, people aren’t interested in her batwing brownies, cat-hair cupcakes, or toad-eye toffees. One day, the mayor is enjoying his breakfast when a little Scare plants itself in the middle of his plate. The mayor flees, and a succession of townspeople comes to help only to be chased off by even bigger Scares. When Curly Locks hears of the kerfuffle, she wonders if anyone has tried cooking for the Scares. She saunters up to the mayor’s house with her possum grease and toadstools and heads to the kitchen. With a promise of her famous Boo Stew and a calm demeanor, she gets the Scares to clean up their mess before sitting down for a meal, striking a historic deal with them that benefits the whole town and gives her someone to cook for. Curly Locks is a plucky Black girl among a multiracial cast of characters whose country accents enhance the story’s setting. The inky, blotchy Scares are pretty scary, and Curly Locks’ food is stomach-turning, hilarious for lovers of gross humor.

This fairy-tale–style story is a standout pleaser for the right crowd, with a year-round shelf life. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews