The Wizard's Tears

by Maxine Kumin, Anne Sexton, Keren Katz (Illustrator)

Overview

A lonely wizard moves to a new town in this charming children's story by renowned American poets Anne Sexton and Maxine Kumin, now in print again for the first time in decades.

Everything is going wrong in the town of Drocknock until the new wizard arrives. He is very young, and he is lonely, and very nervous too; but he knows just where to find the right spells to stop the chicken pox epidemic and bring back the twenty cows that had disappeared. The drought is the town's most important problem, however. The new wizard needs five of his own tears to bring rain, but he is so happy in Drocknock he cannnot cry!
    "Peel an onion," the old wizard advises. "But," he warns, "beware, beware...a wizard's tears are powerful. They can make strange magic.".....
    The Wizard's Tears, first published in 1975, is moving and kind and funny in its intimate and modest way, yet strong and full of renewed life with stunning new illustrations from Keren Katz. Anne Sexton and Maxine Kumin had been friends for several years—having met at and carpooled to a Boston poetry workshop—when they began writing books together for younger readers. The creativity and versatility required for children's books offered the two poets the opportunity to experiment and play with language in new, unexpected ways, to connect world and words with humble, powerful, childlike imagery—"not unlike writing a poem where compression acts to intensify feelings," as Maxine reckoned.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609808754
Publisher:	Seven Stories Press
Publication date:	10/29/2019
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

ANNE SEXTON (1928-1974) is a world-renowned American poet, known for her highly personal, intimist verse. She is the author of many highly praised poetry collections including Live or Die, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1967. She wrote three other books for children with her friend Maxine Kumin—The Egg of Things, More Eggs of Things, and Joey and the Birthday Present—all of which will be reiussued by Triangle Square Books for Young Readers.

Honored as America's poet laureate from 1981 to 1982, MAXINE KUMIN (1925-2014) has been the recipient of many literary awards including the Pulitzer Prize (1973), the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize (1999), and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (2011). In addition to her seventeen poetry collections, novels, and essay collections for adults, she is the author of many children's books including Oh, Harry! (illustrated by Barry Moser), Mites to Mastodons (illustrated by Pam Zagarenski), and The Microscope (illustrated by Arnold Lobel).

Keren Katz is an illustrator, comics artist and the non fictitious half of The Katz Sisters Duo. She graduated Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem, and received an MFA from The School of Visual Arts in NYC. She has contributed stories to anthologies world-wide, self publishes mini-comics all year round, practices performative, interactive and collaborative storytelling marathons in odd locations, and is part of The Humdrum Comics Collective and Pathos Mathos Company. Her debut graphic novel is titled The Academic Hour (Secret Acres, 2017).

Editorial Reviews

★ 02/20/11

Comic fairy tales are tricky to pull off, but this one, originally published in 1975 by poets Kumin and Sexton, hits no false notes. Drought and attendant curses have beset the town of Drocknock—“Twenty cows had disappeared from farmer Macadoo’s pasture without a trace”—and a new young wizard (“The ink was hardly dry on his diploma”) is summoned to replace the old one. Fresh illustrations in brilliant golds and blues by Israeli artist Katz (The Academic Hour) create a different kind of fairy tale atmosphere. Elongated figures, clothed in elegantly patterned garments, display graceful choreography rather than antic action. The communicative value of human facial expression, usually so central to picture book artwork, takes a backseat to abstract shape and rhythm. The young wizard cures the drought and the pox but discovers that his own tears work even more powerful magic. Chaos ensues: Drocknock’s inhabitants turn into frogs, chocolate cake appears for the wizard’s breakfast, and the story takes a “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” turn as he works out how to undo the damage. Fans of Thurber’s The Thirteen Clocks will rejoice. A poignant afterword by Kumin remembers her collaboration with Sexton. Ages 5–9. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"Kumin and Sexton's 1975 tale of a reckless young wizard gets a makeover with Katz's vibrant, whimsical illustrations ... An excellent read-aloud for older picture-book readers, while many of the words repeat throughout the text to support emerging independent readers' facility with language ... Silly, sincere, and optimistic, this reissue with new illustrations will delight a new generation (or two)." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2018-07-24

Kumin and Sexton's 1975 tale of a reckless young wizard gets a makeover with Katz's vibrant, whimsical illustrations.

Delicate, colorful lines depict the exaggeratedly long limbs of the human (and animal) residents of Drocknock. Elements of Drocknock's architecture and clothing are intricately patterned and layered, dominated by cool shades of blue. In contrast, the town's new wizard, fresh out of school, arrives on a red motor bike and is immediately identifiable throughout the book by his bright red cap and glasses. Upon his arrival, he promptly resolves a townwide case of chicken pox, returns a farmer's missing cows, and corrects a drought using a concoction that includes his own tears. Buoyed by his own success, the young wizard begins to experiment further, ignoring his predecessor's warnings: "Wizards' tears are precious. Wizards' tears are powerful." It isn't until he's inadvertently transformed the townspeople into plump little frogs in varying shades of green that the young wizard realizes his error and sets out to fix his mistake. The large blocks of text visually balance out the illustrations and make this book an excellent read-aloud for older picture-book readers, while many of the words repeat throughout the text to support emerging independent readers' facility with language (the leading is forbiddingly tight for those just beginning). Characters are all the white of the paper they are printed on.

Silly, sincere, and optimistic, this reissue with new illustrations will delight a new generation (or two). (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews