Dust Devil

Isaacs, Anne

ISBN 10: 0375967222 ISBN 13: 9780375967221

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade, 2010

Synopsis

Here is the thrilling, thigh-slapping companion to Swamp Angel, the beloved Caldecott Honor–winning picture book.

Swamp Angel has a reputation as the greatest woodswoman and wildest wildcat in all of Tennessee. But when she grows too big for that state, she moves to Montana, a place so sizeable, even Angel can fit in. It’s there that she wrestles a raging storm to the ground and, at its center, finds herself a sidekick—a horse she names Dust Devil. And when Backward Bart, the orneriest, ugliest outlaw ever known, starts terrorizing the prairie, seems like Angel and Dust Devil may be the only ones strong enough to stop him.

Dust Devil received four starred reviews and was named a New York Times Notable Children's Book of the Year and an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Winner. Children will be captivated by the beauty and exaggerated humor of Paul Zelinsky’s American primitive–style paintings and the wit and energy of Anne Isaacs’s unparalleled storytelling. Here is an original folktale starring an extraordinary gal who is as feisty as she is funny and as courageous as she is kind.
From the Hardcover edition.

About this title

About the Author:

Anne Isaacs is the award-winning author of many books for children, including Swamp Angel, a Caldecott Honor Book, an ALA-ALSC Notable Book, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book; Cat Up a Tree, a New York Public Library Title for Reading and Sharing; Torn Thread, an ALA-ALSC Notable Book and a National Jewish Book Award finalist; and Pancakes for Supper, winner of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Best Book Award. Ms. Isaacs lives in Berkeley, California. Visit her at www.anneisaacs.com.

Paul O. Zelinsky is one of the most highly acclaimed illustrators working today. He has received a Caldecott Medal for his telling of Rapunzel, and three Caldecott Honors, for Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, and Swamp Angel, which the New York Times Book Review called “in all ways superb.” The illustrator of Emily Jenkins’s popular Toys Go Out and its sequel, Toy Dance Party, Mr. Zelinsky is also the creator of the bestselling mechanical book The Wheels on the Bus. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Learn more about him at www.paulozelinsky.com.
From the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal:

K-Gr 4–Zelinsky and Isaacs pull out all the stops in this dazzling companion to Swamp Angel (Dutton, 1994). Angelica "Angel" Longrider, the "wildest wildcat in Tennessee," has moved to Montana, "a country so sizable even Angel could fit in." The West seems to suit the feisty heroine, but she has trouble finding a horse powerful enough to carry her until she wrestles a violent storm and Dust Devil emerges mythically out of the fray. Isaacs's text, rich in playful language and alliteration, never misses the opportunity to make the most of the tall-tale convention as the formidable duo embark on a series of action-packed adventures centered on vanquishing a band of backward-speaking bad guys. Zelinsky has a heyday masterfully illustrating the high jinks with his meticulous oil paintings on cedar, aspen, and maple veneers, all of which are elegantly encased by a thin red border. Using softly glowing tones, he brands his own version of a Western folk style to flawlessly render the big-sky setting. The variety of layouts such as ovals, strips, and spot art effectively propel the hilarious, multilayered plot forward while panoramic spreads breathtakingly showcase the story's most dramatic moments. Readers will chuckle over the absurdity of the giant mosquitoes ridden by nasty Bart and his gang and learn the origins of buttes, geysers, the Grand Canyon, and even the California gold rush. A stunning tour de force and a satisfying continuation of Angel's saga.Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
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About this edition

• Publisher: Schwartz & Wade
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0375967222
• ISBN 13: 9780375967221
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Zelinsky Paul O.