Aunt Nancy and the Bothersome Visitors

by Phyllis Root, David Parkins (Illustrator)

Overview

Come on in and stay a spell! Aunt Nancy outwits four unwelcome guests in these trickster tales from a masterful storyteller.

It would take a real pesky visitor to make himself unwelcome to Aunt Nancy. But just her luck — not one but FOUR bothersome folks come knocking at her door! From Cousin Lazybones to Old Man Trouble, from doleful Old Woeful to sly, slick Mister Death, Aunt Nancy’s visitors nearly try her patience. But Aunt Nancy’s head isn’t there just to keep her ears from fighting, and see if she doesn’t get the best of all her guests! Here in one volume are Phyllis Root’s irresistible trickster tales, illustrated with David Parkins’s droll silhouettes and full-color paintings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763630744
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	07/24/2007
Pages:	64
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 9.53(h) x 0.46(d)
Lexile:	630L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Phyllis Root is the author of Big Momma Makes the World and many other award-winning books for children. She says, "Aunt Nancy is my grandmothers and aunts — women who never let the world get the better of them — all rolled into one." She lives in Minneapolis.

David Parkins has illustrated numerous books for children, including Webster J. Duck by Martin Waddell and Egyptian Diary by Richard Platt. He lives in Lincoln, England.

Editorial Reviews

Beguiling…a nifty package that’ll have readers back again and again to visit Aunt Nancy themselves.
—The Horn Book (starred review)

From the Publisher

Aunt Nancy is a granny not to trifle with, whether it's Cousin Lazybones or Old Man Trouble, or doleful Old Woeful or sly Mister Death doing the trifling. To a one, none can outsmart, outwit or outguess this crusty, clever old woman. The stories in these four chapters are the embodiment of the grit, gumption and glee of good old-fashioned folktales. Take Old Lazybones: He's so lazy even his shadow won't follow him. After he gets 17 helpings of lunch and 22 helpings of supper without lifting his big toe, sharp-witted Aunt Nancy can't seem to get out of bed the next morning. Faced with cookin' and cleanin', Lazybones hightails it home. The shrewd artwork stages each episode with a full-color, full-page beginning, then pantomimes the interior scenes with black-and-white silhouettes, which are very effective. The first two stories were previously published individually in 1996, also illustrated by Parkins, but the inventive book design and crafty illustrations are right up Aunt Nancy's chicken coop and just ripe for a storyteller to sink her teeth into. (Fiction. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews