The Black Bull of Norroway: A Scottish Tale

Huck, Charlotte S.

ISBN 10: 0688169015 ISBN 13: 9780688169015

Publisher: Greenwillow, 2001

Synopsis

A delightful Scottish tale of bravery, patience, and determination follows Peggy Ann, who will only marry for love, as she sets out to find her destiny and is taken by the Black Bull of Norroway, a handsome duke who has been turned into a monster by a witch, and Peggy Ann must overcome several obstacles to break the spell and marry her beloved.

About this title

About the Author:

"When I was a child, my favorite fairy tale was the story of Furball. I loved this variant of Cinderella that portrays a spunky young woman who uses her own ingenuity to change her life," says Charlotte Huck. She wondered why this dramatic story had never appeared in a picture-book edition, and it is not surprising that she chose it as the basis of her first book for children, Princess Furball. She felt that the selection of the right illustrator was crucial, and she says, 'Anita Lobel was the perfect artist for it. I think no one today extends the narrative of the story through art in the way Anita does. She is a true master." Charlotte Huck's retelling of a second classic fairy tale, Toads and Diamonds, was also illustrated by Anita Lobel.

Ms. Huck was a professor at Ohio State University for thirty years, and in 1996 the university established in her name the first endowed professorship in children's literature in the United States. Her honors include Ohio State University's Distinguished Teaching Award and the Arbuthnot Award, given annually by the International Reading Association to an outstanding professor of children's literature, and she was selected by the Association of Library Service to Children of the American Library Association to deliver an Arbuthnot Honorary Lecture.

Ms. Huck was the author of five editions of the classic Children's Literature in the Elementary School. As an anthologist, she selected poems of nineteen wellknown poets to create Secret Places, a collection for the youngest readers.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 2-5-A complex Scottish folktale set in Norway. Three sisters set out to marry, the first two seeking riches and status, but the third, Peggy Ann, only wanting a mate "to be kind and good and to love me. I'd even be content with the Black Bull of Norroway." And, indeed, that's who comes to carry her off on the journey to seek her fortune. Along the way, the bull's kindness and solicitude ease her initial fears. Days into their trip, Peggy Ann notices that the creature is limping and removes a large thorn in his foot. Instantly he transforms into a handsome young man, the Duke of Norroway. The girl's kindness has partially broken a cruel enchantment but the Duke must conquer the Guardian of the Glen to break it forever. Peggy Ann and the Duke face a series of obstacles and a separation of seven years before they are at last reunited. Huck's fine prose makes accessible this tale that appeared in dialect in Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book (Dover, 1965). An author's note provides background on the origins of the story and other sources in which its variants appear. Richly colored watercolor-and-black-pen paintings done in Lobel's signature painterly style provide a dynamic visual presentation. Glossy cream-colored borders set off the pictures to perfection and the smaller vignettes interspersed throughout add variety. A superb addition to all folktale collections.

Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Greenwillow
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0688169015
• ISBN 13: 9780688169015
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Lobel Anita