A Big Quiet House

This is one of my favourite folktales, and Forest's adaptation, with Greenstein's witty illustrations, adds to the amusement and truth behind this classic story.In an twist from versions I've heard before, it is a village wise woman that the father in the story consults, rather than the traditional male rabbi/sage. She is just as wise as that rabbi ever was, though, leading us straight to a happy ending your kids (mine are 6 and 8) will enjoy over and over.Forest has chosen a loose, semi-rhyming scheme which is soothing but never predictable or "doggerel-ish." And the ending, though it IS predictable, is delightful when it comes, as this beleaguered "baalabos" (homeowner) is finally able to get some rest.

With children's books, more often than not it is the illustrations that bring the story to life. I have heard this story many times, in many formats but the illustrations in this edition are wonderful, vibrant, and with a wonderful woodcut quality. The illustrations give this old and somewhat tired story a new life! They are so wonderful that they would be perfect by themselves without the story line, framed as decorations for a child's bedroom-or any other part of the house for that matter.If quality illustrations, and not the typical run of the mill canned cutesy drawings, are what you value when picking a child's book than this one is for you!