Obstreperous

Obstreperous
Ted Greenwood
RRP:
NZ$ 39.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 31.99
Hardback
h279 x 184mm - 48pg
17 Nov 2022 US
International import eta 7-19 days
9781944860479
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
Almost every boy has at some time made a kite. But few boys have ever made a kite with so much a mind of its own as Obstreperous. Though it was made in the normal way, with sticks and string and paper and rags, it did not fly in anything like a normal way. At first it didn' t fly at all because there was no wind. And then when the winds came, it dipped and bounced and created all sorts of problems for its maker. In the end, too, it had its way and left some people happy and some a little sad.
In author/illustrator Greenwood' s picture-book reissue, a little boy creates a wild, willful toy. One morning, a child (called only "the Maker") wakes up and decides to craft a kite. When it' s finished, there' s no wind, and the boy must wait. After waiting several days, the wind picks up and the kite is airborne. It first lands in the blackberries, then in the pond. Mrs. Pinch, a neighbor, disapproves, but Mr. Crinkle, another local, offers a new word to describe the kite: "Obstreperous. . . . It means naughty and hard to manage. " (The humans all present as White. ) The Maker names the kite Obstreperous and gives it a frowning face; it flies higher and higher until the string snaps. The Maker is sad, but Obstreperous, now smiling, floats away, unfettered. The simple language makes good use of line breaks, as in the lines "The face of the Maker looked sad as his eyes followed the string / that went / nowhere," arranged next to the downcast boy. These lend the work surprising emotional weight, particularly during its bittersweet ending. However, the illustrations make this book magical. Originally published in 1969, the book has a gratifyingly funky 20th-century look with a mix of line drawings, simple color washes, and doodlelike fills, all in soft, earthy tones, making it feel simultaneously familiar and fresh. A delightful (re)discovery. -Kirkus Review, 2022
Edward Alister (Ted) Greenwood was born in Kew, Victoria, Australia in 1930. After years spent as a teacher, he began work as an author and illustrator of children' s books, eventually contributing to more than twenty classics of the genre, of which Obstreperous was the first. He died in 1999.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781944860479
Published: 17 Nov 2022
Published In: United States
Imprint: Anthology Editions
Publisher: Anthology Editions
Format: Hardback
Height: 279mm
Width: 184mm
Pages: 48

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