Little Mook And Dwarf Longnose (Pocket Paragon Book)
Grade 3-6–Hauff, who was 10 when the Grimms publishedHousehold Tales, publishedLittle Mookand other stories at the age of 24, and a second collection, including "Dwarf Longnose," a year later. Hauff meant his tales to convey moral instruction. In "Little Mook," a dwarf surmounts hardship, supposedly teaching tolerance, but since he can be both vindictive and light-fingered, the message is ambiguous. "Dwarf Longnose" has been illustrated by Maurice Sendak inDwarf Long-Nose(Random, 1960; o.p.) and published asDwarf Nose(North-South, 1994; o.p.) andLittle Long-Nose(Candlewick, 1997; o.p.). It is the rambling tale of a 12-year-old deformed by a vicious witch after he defends his mother's vegetables from her despoiling fingers. He drinks a delicious broth and dreams away seven years serving the sorceress. When he wakes and escapes, his parents reject him, not recognizing his huge nose and hands. This nightmare view of adolescence ends happily when he puts to use the cooking tips he learned in his dream state, gets a job as the duke's chef, befriends a girl bewitched as a goose, and is eventually released from his spell. His parents accept him once he's handsome and self-reliant, and there's a hint of future happiness with the goose-girl. These odd 19th-century tales are unlikely to enter the canon of their own accord, but fortunately they have attracted artists' attention, and Pak is a worthy successor to Sendak, Lisbeth Zwerger, and Laura Stoddart. His paintings deploy caricatured figures in jeweled and stippled colors against backgrounds of matte black. Details of faces and dress are engaging, and the style, combining realism in overall treatment with touches of exaggeration, exactly matches Hauff's.–Patricia D. Lothrop, St. George's School, Newport, RICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.