A hero's feats?Ever since he was a baby, Becan's only worry has been his big feet--until his widowed father remarries. His new stepmothr and her three daughters feed him crusts of bread and banish him to work in the fields. So Becan runs away.
With the help of his only friend, a magical bull, he defeats a giant, slays a dragon, and rescues a princess. But before she can thank him, Becan disappears, leaving behind him one of his enormous boots. The princess scours the kingdom for the owner of the giant boot. Will Becan's feet give him away? And what will his fate be if they do?
Folklorist Shirley Climo retells an age-old Irish tale that is an unusual twist on the popular Cinderella story. Just like his female counterpart, Becan has a mean stepmother and stepsisters. Unlike Cinderella, Becan has large feet and a magical bull for a fairy godmother. He defeats a sword-swinging giant, slays a fire-breathing dragon, and rescues a princess. But before the princess can thank him, he runs off, leaving her with only an enormous boot to aid her in the search for her rescuer. And, as in all Cinderella stories, true love prevails.
Folklorist Shirley Climo retells an age-old Irish tale that is an unusual twist on the popular Cinderella story. Just like his female counterpart, Becan has a mean stepmother and stepsisters. Unlike Cinderella, Becan has large feet and a magical bull for a fairy godmother. He defeats a sword-swinging giant, slays a fire-breathing dragon, and rescues a princess. But before the princess can thank him, he runs off, leaving her with only an enormous boot to aid her in the search for her rescuer. And, as in all Cinderella stories, true love prevails.
K-Gr 2 A pleasant but rather bland condensation of a traditional tale. One of the sources cited, Sara Cone Bryant's "Billy Beg and His Bull" from Best Stories to Tell to Children (Houghton, 1912; o.p.), is much like Seumas MacManus's wonderful retelling in In Chimney Corners (Doubleday & McClure, 1899; o.p.), in which Billy and the Bull are lifelong companions. The old versions have wonderful runs of poetic language and lots of action, a fair amount of which is violent. As well as gentling the story, Climo seems to want to democratize it. The hero is not a king's son but the son of a traveling peddler. He is described as being small in stature with inordinately large feet and the reteller makes much of the fact that he is ridiculed for his appearance. She even names him Becan, or "Little One." There is no magic stick that turns into a sword and gives the lad wondrous strength, and no belt from the bull's hide to make him invincible. Instead, the bull tells Becan to take his tail after he is dead because it will protect him. In fact, the tail kills a giant and the dragon almost on its own accord when the boy unleashes it. The tidy, full- and double-page illustrations are done in pastel colors and look like opaque watercolors. The people's faces are round and simple. It's fine for young picture-book readers and squeamish parents. However, Ellin Greene's retelling, Billy Beg and His Bull (Holiday, 1994), is much closer to the early versions, with its spirited text and earthy and humorous illustrations by Kimberly Bulcken Root. Marilyn Iarusso, New York Public Library Copyright 1998 School Library Journal Reviews
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