Product Details
Good Enough To Eat

Good Enough To Eat
By Brock Cole

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Product Description

Once there was a poor girl who had no mama and no papa and nothing at all, not even a name.
 
But then one day an Ogre comes knocking at the town’s gate, threatening to ravage the town unless the townspeople give him one of their fair maidens. Of course they pick this poor girl to be sacrificed. They dress her in a gown and a paper crown, put her in a sack, and leave her for the Ogre. But this brave and clever girl manages to outwit the Ogre and all the townspeople, too, earning a purse full of gold, a fine sharp sword, and most important, a fitting name for herself: Good-Enough-to-Eat.
 
This satisfying story has the feel of a classic fairy tale, brought to life by Brock Cole’s expressive watercolors.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #765833 in Books
  • Published on: 2007-09-18
  • Released on: 2007-09-18
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 32 pages

Features

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Cole is a master at conveying the emotions of the characters, both animal and human. This engaging story and its resourceful heroine will appeal to many children."—Starred, School Library Journal
 
"A beguiling mix of rhythmic prose and snatches of verse . . . Fine fare for reading alone or aloud."—Starred, Kirkus Reviews
 
"Satisfying fare indeed."--The Horn Book
 
"A spunky and self-contained folkloric heroine whose victory has nothing to do with getting the prince, our protagonist will be welcomed by many young listeners."—Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
 
"In both text and art, Cole...delivers an original fairy tale with lingering emotional resonance."—Starred, Publisher's Weekly

About the Author

BROCK COLE is the author and/or illustrator of many books. His picture books include Buttons, a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor Book, and Larky Mavis, and his critically acclaimed novels include The Goats and Celine. Most recently, he illustrated George Washington’s Teeth, written by Deborah Chandra and Madeleine Comora, which was selected as an ALA Notable Book. He lives in Buffalo, New York.

Customer Reviews

My girly girl loves it5
I rarely find a book that my child wants to read over and over again, but after borrowing this from a library, I just had to buy it. I read this story to children ages 5, 4, and 2 and they all just loved it. They loved screaming out the "NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!" line each time we read it.
My girls are the princess story type, but they loved this book.

Just desserts for Good Enough to Eat5
This is the story of a homeless girl/young woman in an unspecified medieval time. She is without family, home or even name, so she is alternatively called Scraps-and-Smells, Skin-and-Bones or Sweets-and-Treats. She supports herself, such as she can, by selling paper birds and stale bread or begging when she needs to. As such, she frequently goes cold and hungry. Although many of the townspeople are annoyed by her, the mayor decides not to turn her out, thinking it a "good deed" to indulge her presence that will eventually be rewarded.

When an Ogre comes demanding a bride, the townspeople unanimously elect the girl for the honor. However, the Ogre rejects her three times, giving her twice, giving her the opportunity to acquire a dowry from the townsfolk and a sharp sword. When he finally decides she's "Good Enough to Eat," she kills the Ogre. Although the townspeople are now grateful enough to offer her food, cloth and a barrel to live in, the girl happily turns her back, with her gold, sword and companions that she rescued from the Ogre.

I loved the story because it showed someone who, although rejected all her life, proved to be clever and opportunistic. The illustrations were spot on, contrasting the skinny, confused girl with the selfish, fattened townspeople. They also lent to the hectic, zany atmosphere the story hints at.

Sometimes people are treated badly, but sometimes, even those people can get a little justice.

Fine, involving story. 5
Brock Cole's GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT tells of a threatening foul ogre who demands one of the town's fair maidens - and it's easy for the town to decide on who to sacrifice: a poor girl who lives on the streets. They dress her finely and leave her for the Ogre - but it turns out he's quite fussy - and the girl uncommonly brave - in this fine, involving story.