The Horn Book Guide

PRESCHOOL

Doyle, Malachy

The Bold Boy

40 pp. | Candlewick | November, 2001 | Trade ISBN 0-7636-1624-9 $$15.99

(2) PS Illustrated by Jane Ray. The verbal repetition in this original folktale underscores its silliness and its wisdom both. A boy cons an old woman, then an old man, and last a young girl into watching his pea (which he has just found), then his hen (which ate his pea), then his pig (which frightened his hen away) as he upgrades his possessions after each loss. He gets his comeuppance, but only briefly, in this tale whose buoyant optimism is reflected in the sunny artwork.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2001