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The Dadmag Guide To Children's Books
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The Stories Julian Tells
(Ages 4-8)
The first out of five of The Stories Julian Tells is the snappiest; it turns on some scary wordplay. "Beat" and "whip" mean different things when the all-knowing Dad makes a pudding for Mom and when he prepares a punishment for the two brothers who eat it instead. There's wordplay in Ann Cameron's other tales too, most of which revolve around childhood misconceptions. The story in which Julian keeps eating the leaves off his fig tree is almost nauseatingly faithful to the misunderstandings and anxieties of boyhood: Julian has somehow gotten it in his head that since leaves are a sign of growth, he'll grow faster if he eats them. Most kids can relate to that kind of mistake. Ann Strugnell's drawings combine meticulous realism with whimsy.
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