The Three Mouths of Little Tom Drum

by Nancy Willard, Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator)

Overview

Lack of self-control has shocking consequences, but inventiveness carries the day in a contemporary fairy tale from Newbery Medalist Nancy Willard, with art by Kevin Hawkes.

Little Tom Drum loves strawberry pie so much that he creeps down to the kitchen at night to get one more slice of that sweet, flaky goodness resting on the windowsill in the moonlight . . . pie his mother made for tomorrow’s birthday party. If only he had thought twice! Bearing the marks of his greediness, Tom Drum resigns himself to a reclusive life, but soon gains fame as a child inventor. Can his imagination and ingenuity lead to his own reinvention? Kevin Hawkes’s comical illustrations, brimming with creativity, add to the fantastic and the cautionary in this original fairy tale by award-winning poet Nancy Willard.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763654764
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	02/10/2015
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nancy Willard is the author of numerous books for children and adults, including A Visit to William Blake’s Inn, illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen, which was a Newbery Medal winner, a National Book Award Finalist, and a Caldecott Honor Book. Nancy Willard lives in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Kevin Hawkes is the illustrator and author-illustrator of a number of popular books for children, including Weslandia by Paul Fleischman, commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal, and Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, a New York Times bestseller. Kevin Hawkes lives in Gorham, Maine.

Editorial Reviews

12/01/2014
Little Tom Drum’s mother scolds him the night before his birthday party when he begs for another slice of strawberry pie: “Have you three mouths?” When he sneaks downstairs for more and gets caught, two more mouths appear on his face. He can’t go to school (“What would people say?” his father groans), so he tinkers in his workshop, assembling a wishing machine kit and wishing for his old, one-mouthed face. Little Tom’s ingenious creations are the story’s greatest charm—as the months pass, he invents artificial paws for dogs and speedy shoes for grandmothers, drawing fans. “We don’t want you to look like everybody else!” cry the children who have grown to love him. It seems to be a setup for a story about accepting oneself—a story that might comfort readers who don’t look like others—but Willard (The Flying Bed) supplies a happy ending after all, one that restores Tom’s “normal” appearance while (oddly) regressing his age. The tale enthralls nonetheless, especially with Hawkes’s (Remy and Lulu) lush pen-and-ink panels, a winsome combination of small-town wholesomeness and mechanical fantasy. Ages 4–8. Author’s agency: Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

The tale enthralls... especially with Hawkes’s lush pen-and-ink panels, a winsome combination of small-town wholesomeness and mechanical fantasy.
—Publishers Weekly

Newbery medalist Willard’s gentle tale has an irresistible premise and is filled with invention and imagination, matched by Hawkes’ apposite, softly rendered pictures in pen, ink, and pastel. It’s a treat matched only by Little Tom’s strawberry pie!
—Booklist

Hawkes' detailed pen-and-ink-and-pastel illustrations extend Willard's deadpan humor with just enough creepiness. ... Inventors and pie lovers will find this one delicious.
—Kirkus Reviews

The story is beautifully illustrated in pen and ink with pastel. The art pairs nicely with the fairy tale–like mood of the story.
—School Library Journal

Pairs realism and whimsy.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

12/01/2014
PreS-Gr 3—Little Tom Drum loves nothing more than strawberry pie, and he always begs for more. One fateful evening, his mother teases him, asking him if he has "three mouths." Unfortunately for all, the child responds in the affirmative. That evening, as he is sneaking more pie, he suddenly has three mouths, an extra one on each side of his face. The whole family is sent into a tailspin, and they agree he must quit school and be taught at home. As time passes, it becomes clear that Tom has a knack for inventing gadgets, and he becomes renowned all over the world. One day, a "Wishing Machine" is delivered, and it eventually returns him to his former, one-mouthed self. The story is beautifully illustrated in pen and ink with pastel. The art pairs nicely with the fairy tale-like mood of the story. Unfortunately, the meandering plot is confusing. Tom's playful inventions steal the narrative and detract from his three-mouths dilemma. By the time he is restored to normal, readers might well have forgotten that he even had this physical anomaly. This title will have limited appeal and is a supplemental purchase best suited to libraries with large collections.—Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, St. Joseph, MI

School Library Journal

2014-11-18
Little Tom Drum's love of strawberry pie leads to a lot more than he bargained for.Willard spins a modern fairy tale about a boy, his gluttony for strawberry pie and one careless wish. When 8-year-old Little Tom Drum wishes for three mouths so he can eat more pie, he wakes up to find two extra mouths, one in his left cheek and one in his right, which makes him look like a monster to his parents. They feel they cannot send their boy to school and hire a tutor to work with their son. In between reading books on "mathematics and giraffes and gardening," Little Tom Drum learns about the world and creates amazing inventions with items found around his house in a workshop built by his father. On his ninth birthday, a box with a wishing machine arrives on his doorstep, and Little Tom Drum carefully puts it together and, much more carefully this time, makes his wish. While waiting for his wish to come true, he discovers his real gift: solving others' problems with his inventive mind. Hawkes' detailed pen-and-ink-and-pastel illustrations extend Willard's deadpan humor with just enough creepiness. (Three mouths turn out to be remarkably unnerving.) The old-time clothing adds to the fairy-tale feel. Fans of Hawkes' illustrations for Paul Fleischman's Weslandia (1999) will find welcome connections here. Inventors and pie lovers will find this one delicious. (Picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews