Product Description

In a picture-book version of the classic Rootabaga story, the Huckabucks pull up stakes after a fire starts and their enormous popcorn harvest pops them out of house and farm.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #198935 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-08
• Released on: 2004-08-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 40 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The homespun, old-fashioned charm of Small's (The Gardener) busy pictures makes the most of this winning narrative, first published in 1923 as one of Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories. The comedy begins on a Nebraska corn farm owned by the Huckabucks: Jonas Jonas, Mama Mama and their daughter, Pony Pony ("I call my pony-face girl Pony Pony because if she doesn't hear me the first time, she always does the second," quips her father). The family's crop yields a bountiful harvest. But when Pony Pony finds a Chinese silver slipper buckle in the middle of a squash, her parents predict this means that their luck is going to change, "and we don't know whether it will be good luck or bad luck." A fire in the barn causes a veritable blizzard of popcorn, with Pony Pony and her dog staring out at each other, goggle-eyed. The Huckabucks then take to the road for several years while they wait for "a sign, a signal" to return home. As they cover the Midwestern states, Small shows the family as a tightly knit trio, with a mother and daughter proud of Jonas Jonas's resourcefulness, whether he is driving a coal wagon or watching the watches in a watch factory. When the Huckabucks finally get their "sign" to return to their farm, Small makes the most of their homecoming: all the animals gather at the front door to welcome the Huckabucks home, newspapers spilling off the front stoop. He depicts the family's peripatetic lifestyle with wry wit and droll details, leading readers of this engaging book to feel they've met with the good kind of luck. All ages. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4-Finally, another of Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories has been made into a picture book-and a fine one. Jonas Jonas Huckabuck, his wife Mama Mama Huckabuck, and their daughter Pony Pony Huckabuck raise popcorn. One day, the child finds a Chinese silver slipper buckle inside a squash. Her parents say it's a sign that their luck will change. Sure enough, that night a fire starts in the barn and the popcorn starts to pop, until the entire farm is buried in it. The family leaves, traveling throughout the Midwest. In different towns, Pony Pony proudly watches as her father drives a coal car, digs ditches, or works as a watch-factory watchman. On Thanksgiving, three years later, she opens a squash, and there's the mate to the silver buckle. It's another sign, and so the family returns to the farm, ready to grow anything but popcorn. Small's watercolors burst with hue; each panoramic double-page spread is full of detail and the people look extraordinarily human in figure and expression. With exuberant energy, the artist illustrates the reverence Sandburg held for the Midwest-its farming, industry, and people. He communicated it through his rhythmic text that is delicious on the tongue-that plays, details, catalogs, and repeats until the story feels like a spell. His classic Depression-era migrant-worker fairy tale should spring to new life with this new version.
Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4-The proud Huckabucks are forced to leave their farm and try their hands at other ways of life before making their way back to the land. The eye-popping ink-and-watercolor artwork is as bright as a summer morning and as expansive as a Nebraska cornfield. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Small's whimsical pictures are perfectly suited to Sandburg
This book is a satisfying follow-up to David Small's last twobooks, The Gardener & The Library. Though this is an old story its optimistic message suits Small's whimsical style beautifully. I'm thoroughly confused by the review in Kirkus that criticizes the repetitive nature of the names--this is part of Sandburg's poetic form--as well as the "pointless" nature of the Huckabuck family's travels, which is actually the whole point of the story. One must take a change in luck in stride, go out and find one's new fortune, and you may even find yourself back home having learned a thing or two. Cheers (& 5 stars) to the Huckabucks, Sandburg, and David Small.

An American Fairy Tale
Carl Sandburg's Huckabuck Family will delight and charm children of every age with a story of family pride and optimism. When the Huckabucks Nebraska barn burns down and all their popcorn pops, they decide to go on the road and wait for a sign to tell them when to come back home. Each year they move to a new town and Papa finds a new job. The Huckabucks may have good luck, or bad, but they always have each other. David Small's illustrations add just the right touch to the story and are so detailed that even the farm animals have facial expressions. So, sit down and take a trip across the country and back with the Huckabucks. I promise, you won't be disappointed. This is a wonderful book the whole family can share.

Forget this one
As a teacher who is developing an inter-disciplinary unit on popcorn, I was disappointed in this book. Spend your money on Corn Is Maize, The Popcorn Book, or even George Washington's Breakfast, all of which provide excellent background.