Larky Mavis

by Brock Cole

Another orginal picture-book fairy tale Larky Mavis, an eccentric soul, finds three peanuts in the middle of the road. The first tastes like liver and onions. The second, like bread pudding. And the third - well, inside the third is a baby. Larky Mavis decides to name it Heart's Delight and to take care of it. She shows it to the teacher, and he says it looks like a worm. She asks the parson to christen it, but he thinks it's a mouse. And when she...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374343659
• ISBN13: 9780374343651
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 9.8" x 9.4"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Odd fairy tale

Mavis finds 3 peanuts in the road and eats 2 of them. The last one looks a little like it might be alive, so Mavis doesn't eat it. Instead, she calls it her baby. But the townsfolk don't believe that it is a baby. They call it a worm, a mouse, and a bat and give Mavis a really hard time. Eventually, the little thing grows up to take Mavis away from the cruel townsfolk. Altogether, the book has about 900 words.

A Review of Brock Cole's Book Larky Mavis

Denise WelcshChildren's Literature Professor Jen Welsh19 November, 2001 A Review of Brock Cole's Picture Book Larky Mavis Brock Cole's picture book Larky Marvis, at first glance, reminds myself of a pastoral Norman Rockwell setting. A tall, freckled-faced red haired girl stands in the middle of a grassy field with pink and yellow butterflies about while she holds on to a sack which appears to have a rabbit or a angel's wings poking out at the sides. The sack is the most intriguing item I first see. The wondering and imaging what is in the sack I believe to be the thing that beckons the reader to open the book. The story begins rather harmlessly with a girl named Mavis who is walking down a dirt path and stumbles upon three peanuts. She decides to eat them one by one. The first tasting like liver and onions and the second tasting like bread pudding and the third with what she believes to be a baby. She then shows the teacher of the nearby school and he believes she is showing him and his students a worm. Although, the teacher calls her baby a worm she decides to keep it in her pocket. The next Sunday Mavis takes her baby to the parson and asks if he can christen her baby, in the basket, she calls Hearts Delight. The parson is outraged and tells Mavis he can not baptize a mouse and tells her to run along. The next person she meets is the Doctor with Hearts Delight in a sack. She asks him if he could help the baby to say "Ma". Doctor is also outraged and says to her I can not make your bat say "Ma" because he does not think it fit for animals to be talking. As Hearts Delight grew, Mavis had to feed her baby potatoes and cabbage and whatever Hearts Delight didn't eat Mavis gave away. Every one in the town became very upset with Mavis and the thing in her sack and wanted to do something about it. They all tried to make Mavis believe that they were going to take her baby away and care for it elsewhere. But Mavis remembered how no one wanted to help her and Hearts Delight while it was growing up and she ran away with Hearts Delight. On the way, she met the teacher, the parson, the doctor and they all wanted Hearts Delight for their own selfish purposes. But in that instant when they were all grabbing on to her and Hearts Delight, it called for her to "Let Go Ma" and off Mavis and Hearts Delight flew into the sky. With the pastoral Norman Rockwell images and the beautiful story of a young girls peanut baby, the story draws on simple times and simple things. Although the story seems to be very untraditional, the pictured and images are of time long forgotten by most, of a person on their porch reading The Saturday Evening Post .

Lovely, Whimsical Story.....

"Down the road came Larky Mavis, mooning about, mooning about." She's a kind-hearted, simple minded, ragtag of a woman with a mop of red hair. She trips over three peanuts, eats two, and when she opens the third, finds what she's convinced, is a baby inside. She names it Heart's Delight because it makes her glad and carefully feeds and nutures it, carrying her baby with her in a basket, wherever she goes. Soon, Heart's Delight has grown so large that Larky Mavis wraps it up in an old tablecloth and carries it on her back. The townspeople, at first show contempt and disdain for Mavis and Heart's Delight, calling her baby, when they get a peek, a mouse, a deformed bird or maybe a bat and as it grows, a turkey in molt, a calf and a half or even a dragon and try to take Heart's Delight away from her. But Mavis is its mother and protects it with all her might. As the townspeople descend, a voice is heard from the wrapped bundle we've never seen, "Let Go My Ma!" and Heart's Delight finally appears to save the day..... Brock Cole has authored a clever and appealing modern day fairy tale with a simple message about tolerance, that won't be lost on young readers. The gentle and engaging text is complemented by his evocative and detailed watercolor artwork in subdued tones and youngsters will be entranced as they watch and wait for a hidden Heart's Delight to finally appear. Perfect for children 4-8, Larky Mavis is a masterpiece, sure to become a classic, and a wonderful addition to all home bookshelves.

Larky Mavis by Brock Cole

Our eight year old was twitching with suspense waiting to see what Larky had in her bundle that kept growing with each unusual feeding. When the final pages came there was still much discussion about just exactly what this creature was and where they went together.The illustrations where great and also lead to great speculation.