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Summary
Summary
Jambo and Marva emigrated from France to Iowa and opened a small tree nursery.They and their piglets were skilled topiarists. Every autumn, they sculpted giant turkey topiaries, for which there was a big demand. One morning, Jambo awoke to discover all of their turkeys stolen! Things looked grim, but Marva had a plan. Glowing etchings fill the pages with dramatic images of giant turkey topiaries.
Author Notes
Arthur Geisert's unique and exquisite etchings have been widely praised and exhibited at the Chicago Institute of Art, among other museums. His work is regularly selected for the Society of Illustrators', annual Original Art exhibition, and his illustrations are now being collected by the Dubuque Museum of Art. He lives in a converted bank in Bernard, Iowa.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-A story about Jambo and Marva, porcine pruners whose stock of giant topiary turkeys is stolen shortly before Thanksgiving. There's not much mystery as to the identity of the perpetrator. "It looked like Voler's work. He was always suspected when topiaries were missing-," but absolute proof of his guilt is hard to determine, as he has his own collection of topiary turkeys. That is, until the first frost causes the leaves to change color. The worthy protagonists' turkeys are readily distinguishable amid the stock at Voler's because the good pigs used deciduous trees, unlike the villain's evergreens. All this silliness is really just an excuse to showcase Geisert's delightful engravings that, in a departure from his usual work, are in full color. The illustrations depict the French pigs now living in Iowa at work in the tree nursery; at rest in their house fashioned from pieces of a caboose, a school bus, a church, and other architectural detritus; and on the trail of the miscreant. This is a truly unusual Thanksgiving offering.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
When turkey-shaped topiaries are stolen from the Jambonneau family's nursery, the pigs set out to find the thief. In a starred review, PW wrote, "Geisert combines history, unique Midwestern color and fun in his simple yet snappy text," and also praised the "intricate, evocative hand-colored etchings." Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Pigs Jambo and Marva are skilled topiarists, and every fall their nurseryÆs turkey-shaped topiaries are in high demand. When their trees are stolen, however, efforts to catch the thief are thwarted until Marva devises a way to expose him. The narrative is about as lively as an actual crime report, but Geisert's illustrations are rich with detail and have a pleasingly old-fashioned quality. From HORN BOOK Spring 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This whimsical whodunit, longer on visual appeal than internal logic, kicks off with the overnight disappearance of a crop of huge turkey topiaries from the nursery-cum-salvage-yard of aptly named Jambonneau and his dainty wife Merville de Peru. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, is their business ruined? And is this the work of notorious topiary thief Voler? Clues point that way, but not clearly enough to make an accusation, because Voler's yard is stuffed with similar-looking leafy gobblers. Typically, children willing to study Geisert's colored etchings will have a field day picking out the details. The bereft gardeners, with their 12 energetic children, live in a house constructed from railroad cars and an Iowa school bus, surrounded by giant pumpkins, plus inviting reefs of building and machine parts. In the end, Merville-or "Marva," as she is known-outwits Voler by choosing deciduous shrubs to shape; those too disappear, but come the first hard frost they change color, standing out in Voler's yard like sore thumbs, and off to jail he goes. It's a Thanksgiving story with a difference, played out con brio by an all-porcine cast. (Picture book. 6-8)
Booklist Review
Ages 4-8. Geisert, whose picture books such as Oink Oink (1993) and Roman Numerals I to MM (1996) showed his talent for drawing pigs, cuts loose here in a quirky, imaginative, dressed-animal tale told and illustrated with enormous dignity. Jambo and Marva, two hardworking pigs, bring up their 12 piglets on their tree nursery just south of Ames, Iowa, raising topiary trees and teaching their children to trim them into sculptural shapes such as turkeys, a seasonal favorite. One morning Jambo awakes to find that their topiary turkeys have been stolen. The family soon finds clues leading to Voler's place but cannot prove which turkey-shaped trees are theirs. Marva devises a clever plan for catching the notorious thief. Voler confesses, justice is served, and the topiary business flourishes. Reminiscent of Tomi Ungerer's Mellops series in its rather formal language and loving, resourceful pig family, this picture book has a gentle wit all its own. The story may take some explaining to young children, but the detailed, inventive etchings, well composed and tinted with colorful washes, will draw them right into this inviting world. Here piglets are trusted to do good, interesting work and a house can include elements such as a school bus, a red caboose, and a slide from the second floor porch into the yard. --Carolyn Phelan
