The Goblin and the Empty Chair

September 7, 2009
A green, sharp-clawed goblin who has exiled himself from society reveals his warm heart when he stumbles upon a farmer whose grief has overcome his will to work. The goblin waits for night, then pitches in: “He dug where digging was needed. He chopped where chopping was needed.” Sturdy ink and watercolor drawings by the Caldecott Medalists recall pages in a medieval book of hours, a thin panel along the top showing a sequence of actions, while the main panel captures a single instant. The goblin cares tenderly for the farmer's wife and child, too, trying unsuccessfully to serve without being discovered. Gathered at their table, the family sits “staring at the chair that had been empty all winter,” then sets food there for the goblin, who watches fearfully from outside. Readers will understand that the family is bereaved, and that just as the goblin provided each family member with what they needed, they are doing the same for him. Acceptance and healing are less common picture book themes; Fox (Time for Bed
) handles them with particular grace. Ages 5–8.

October 1, 2009
Gr 1-3-Frightened by his own reflection, a goblin lives alone, hidden away from the world. One day as he watches from a distance, he sees a farmer who is so overcome with grief that he is unable to finish his work. The next day he sees the farmer's wife and the following day his daughter, both unable to set aside their sorrow and complete their chores. For three nights, the goblin does the family's work, unaware that each member in this silent, sorrowful family has seen him. At breakfast on the fourth day, as they stare at a chair vacant since the loss of a child in the winter, they rise and place another helping of food on the table. Then they open the door. Afraid to enter, the goblin hides, but when the family gets up to leave the table, food untouched, he joins them at breakfast. Each page contains a frame with a large square picture at the bottom and a top border illustration. Small goblin heads peer out from both sides of the frame. The stylized watercolor-and-ink illustrations, done in muted tones, are attractive but static, showing characters that seem to be posing rather than being caught in the action of the moment. Like the pictures, this quiet, simply written tale lacks real drama, but its message of kindness and compassion will appeal to many readers."Barbara Scotto, Children's Literature New England, Brookline, MA"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2009
Grades K-1 The all-star team of Fox and the Dillons brings poise and sensitivity to this folksy tale of the pitfalls of self-perception. Long ago and far away, a green-skinned goblin sees his reflection in a pond. Horrified, he wraps his face in gauze and resolves to spend his lifetime alone. But after years of solitude, he finds himself sneaking out at night to do good deeds for a family of farmers. He chops their wood, sows their garden, and soothes their child. Unbeknownst to him, the family is watching. Fox concocts a clever symbolism: when the farmer anguishes, he proceeds to bury his head in his hands, as does his wife and child, which mirrors the goblins covered countenance. The ink-and-watercolors are rigidly confined to uniform frames, but even these frames are ornately festooned with not-so-monstrous faces, further developing the storys theme. When the family finally invites the goblin into their home and unwraps his gauze, we dont get to see his face, but thats the whole pointit doesnt really matter, does it?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)