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Summary
Summary
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.
Good Enough To Eat is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Author Notes
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.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-A poor homeless girl, known only as "Scraps-and-Smells" or "Skin-and-Bones" or "Sweets-and-Treats," is barely tolerated by the townspeople. When a terrifying Ogre comes to the town gate demanding a bride, the frightened villagers quickly choose her as their offering. But this girl is not as dimwitted as she might seem, and she cleverly manages to get the best of both the foul Ogre and the ungrateful townspeople. The writing is vivid, incorporating some rhyming verse and some delicious vocabulary, making the story especially well suited for reading aloud. The descriptions are sometimes harsh and compelling: "-sometimes she would beg and sometimes she would starve-." Strong ink outlines add energy to the watercolor illustrations, aptly conveying the events of the dramatic text. Cole is a master at depicting the emotions of the characters, both animal and human. This engaging story and its resourceful heroine will appeal to many children.-Robin L. Gibson, Granville Parent Cooperative Preschool, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
As in Larky Mavis, Cole introduces an eccentric village misfit who emerges a heroine. The bedraggled lass lives on the streets, selling "stale buns and paper birds," begging for food ("Sometimes she would starve") and singing aloud, much to the displeasure of the villagers who alternately dub her Scraps-and-Smells, Skin-and-Bones or Sweets-and-Treats. The mayor, an impotently compassionate patriarch adorned in purple finery, won't let them run her out of town, claiming, "The poor are always with us, and no good deed goes unrewarded." When a foul ogre threatens to ravage the village if he isn't given a maiden to wed, the residents gladly offer up the gawky young woman, whom they truss up in an ill-fitting gown and battered paper crown. The creature rejects her on sight, but she slyly persuades the townsfolk that the ogre wants both a dowry and a sharp sword. After the ogre swallows maiden, gold and jewels, and sword, the heroine slays the creature and outwits the villagers to strike off on her own, fully equipped with treasure. Cole speeds the action with his bustling ink-and-watercolor washes of the villagers, none of them who seems to pause, neither the well-dressed man who claps his hand over his purse when asked for help nor the plump lady with the disapproving expressions. In both text and art, Cole indicts the hypocritical villagers and delivers an original fairy tale with lingering emotional resonance. Ages 5-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary) Here's a recipe for a savory tale. Take one outcast beggar girl, some selfish townspeople, a duplicitous mayor, and an insatiable ogre; mix in both guile and bravery; steep in folkloric conventions; and serve alongside illustrations brimming with energy. Cole introduces his heroine as others see her, dressed in rags, gazing vacantly, with an expression that might be sad, or...is she simple-minded? When she dons a straw wig and sings while following people through the streets, it's little wonder townsfolk want to banish her. Yes, it's easy to underestimate old Scraps-and-Smells (as people refer to her), who isn't the empty-headed waif she appears. In his art, Cole seems to be channeling Margot Zemach's lively line and delicate use of color. The cadenced language and blithe illustrations work perfectly together to advance the story and reveal subtleties of character. The threat of a terrifying ogre (""his breath smelled of graves, and he had rats in his hair instead of lice"") brings out people's worst (the mayor sacrifices the girl to be the ogre's bride), but Skin-and-Bones (as she's also called) saves the town, claiming her own reward, and, finally, a name for herself. With the structure of a fairy tale and the freshness of an original story, Good Enough to Eat is satisfying fare indeed. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Like Larky Mavis (2001) but sans the metaphysics, this folklorish original tale gives a poor, scorned orphan a chance to show her inner stuff, and to make a fresh start. When an ogre--"Oh, he was a foul creature! His breath smelled of graves, and he had rats in his hair instead of lice"--appears at the town gates demanding a bride, the townsfolk dress the nameless beggar, sometimes dubbed "Scraps-and-Smells" or "Skin-and-Bones," in a fine gown and a paper crown, and push her out. She turns out to be quicker of wit than anyone supposes, however, and by the time the ogre finally swallows her down, she's acquired a sharp sword and a purse of gold--using the one to kill the monster and triumphantly carrying the other away as her reward, head held high. Cole writes in a beguiling mix of rhythmic prose and snatches of verse, paired to equally beguiling watercolor scenes of rumpled-looking figures in a medieval setting. Viewers who linger over the pictures will be rewarded with plenty of comical side details, but also come to appreciate the artist's genius for conveying character through subtleties of posture and expression. Fine fare for reading alone or aloud. (Picture book. 7-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
An orphan girl who has nothing, not even a name, begs for food and shelter from contemptuous townspeople. Then a giant, comically hideous ogre arrives and threatens to destroy the village unless he is given a fair maiden to wed. After a cursory vote, the girl is handed over to the ogre, who roars back, Not enough! before devouring handfuls of livestock. The girl asks the villagers for gold and a knife to appease the ogre, stabs the beast when she's back in its clutches, and sets off with the gold to start a new life. Cole borrows familiar fairy-tale elements the monster who claims a maid, the occasional rhyming songs, violence that's softened by magic and weaves them into a witty, original story. The scribbly ink-and-watercolor images don't always make the most of the story's dramatic energy; the many clumps of villagers in the pictures do little to enhance the story. There are numerous standout spreads, though, and kids will easily be drawn in by the sly humor, surprising twists, and clever heroine.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2007 Booklist