2018 School Spending Survey Report
Nelly May Has Her Say
illus. by Henry Cole. 32p. Farrar/Margaret Ferguson. Mar. 2013. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-374-39899-6. LC 2011018484.
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PreS-Gr 3—Nelly May Nimble lives in a tiny house with her parents and her 12 brothers and sisters. One day she announces that it's time to earn her own keep, so she ventures off to the hilltop home of Lord Ignasius Pinkwinkle to hire out her services. Lord Pinkwinkle agrees with one condition; the master of the house has special names for things, and Nelly must use those names when she speaks to him. At first, Nelly obliges, addressing Lord Pinkwinkle as "Most Excellent of All Masters," and using his silly monikers, such as "long-legged limberjohns" for trousers and a "flaming pop-and-sizzle" for his fireplace. But when Lord Pinkwinkle's "fur-faced fluffenbarker's wigger-wagger" catches fire, Nelly has to wake him and announce the fire before the house burns down. Can she remember all those silly names before a catastrophe happens? Cole's illustrations juxtapose Nelly's homestead in the "Bottoms" and Lord Pinkwinkle's "roof-topped castleorum" with deft humor and a folk styling that is sure to appeal to young readers. Nelly is spirited and clever, most surely not just another "fuzzy-dust-and-fooder" that his "Most Excellent Master" thinks she is. With one smart heroine and witty wordplay, this book, which is based on the English folktale "Master of All Masters," will delight.—Carol Connor, Cincinnati Public SchoolsThe brief and absurdist folktale "Master of All Masters" (found in Joseph Jacobs's English Fairy Tales), about an eccentric gentleman who insists on his own invented language, is a tempting story to tell, except for two problems. The tale's invented words (pondalorum for water, barnacle for bed) lack nonsense logic, at least in our time and place, and the punch line, a sort of party piece tongue-twister, leaves the listener wondering, "And then...?" In Jacobs, it feels like a joke that got frozen on its way to becoming a story. DeFelice and Cole do a fine job of letting the premise grow into a real narrative and amending the invented terms to ones that trip more rhythmically off the tongue as they take on an energetic American twang. Here, when red-haired Nelly May heads up the hill in search of employment with Lord Pinkwinkle, the requirements of the job are to memorize his eccentric names for things: a bed is a "restful slumberific," water is "rivertrickle," boots are "stompinwhackers," etc. DeFelice rounds out the character of the unnamed child servant in the folktale to the capable and clever Nelly May and adds an extra, highly satisfying beat to the plot. Cole's illustrations don't try to be too clever, and the clean book design and forefronted action make it perfect for storytime, which is where this comical tale of creative naming will shine. sarah ellis
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