The Land of Hungry Armadillos - Hardcover

David, Lawrence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 038532698X ISBN 13: 9780385326988

Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2000

Synopsis

Gus won't share crayons and paper with his little sister, Wendy. So, after being sent to his room, Gus angrily wishes upon a star for his very own drawing supplies. A creature named Zub appears, ready to grant Gus his wish for the right trade. Why not Wendy? Zub gladly hands Gus his own crayons and paper. In the morning Wendy is nowhere to be found. No longer angry, Gus remembers the deal he made and knows he must get his sister back. So begins Gus's journey to the land of hungry armadillos--where Zub rules, poor Wendy is most unhappy, and Gus realizes that selfish actions can have bad consequences. . . .

About this title

About the Author:

Lawrence David is the author of The Good Little Girl and Beetle Boy.

Frédérique Bertrand has written and
illustrated numerous picture books.

From Publishers Weekly:

Fire and brimstone (and diabolical armadillos) threaten two quarrelsome siblings in this heavy-handed yet creatively visualized tale. Gus refuses to share his crayons with his sister, Wendy. He underlines his feelings by drawing a picture of Wendy crying in "a land that had red mountains, a lake of bubbling goo, and a line of hungry armadillos with wide-open mouths." That evening, Gus gets a visit from Zub, a rust-orange giant who offers an enormous box of crayons and paper in exchange for Wendy. Gus gladly agrees but is shocked when Zub takes Wendy to his subterranean realm and forces her to bake cupcakes for an endless queue of ravenous armadillos. "I want my sister home.... I never meant for her really to be gone," cries Gus, who must perform an unselfish act to save Wendy from her weird fate. David (The Good Little Girl; Beetle Boy) avoids direct mention of Satan and sin, but Zub has much in common with Beelzebub, and the pat ending has a bromide aftertaste. French artist Bertrand selects a fiery palette of sulphurous red and yellow ochre and plays on the coloring-book premise by scribbling and painting the characters on lined scratch paper. Her jittery, surreal compositions, which mimic a child's inventive drawing style, enliven this long-winded game of beat the devil. Ages 6-up. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 038532698X
• ISBN 13: 9780385326988
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Bertrand Frederique