From Publishers Weekly
The homespun, old-fashioned charm of Small's (The Gardener) busy pictures makes the most of this winning narrative, first published in 1923 as one of Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories. The comedy begins on a Nebraska corn farm owned by the Huckabucks: Jonas Jonas, Mama Mama and their daughter, Pony Pony ("I call my pony-face girl Pony Pony because if she doesn't hear me the first time, she always does the second," quips her father). The family's crop yields a bountiful harvest. But when Pony Pony finds a Chinese silver slipper buckle in the middle of a squash, her parents predict this means that their luck is going to change, "and we don't know whether it will be good luck or bad luck." A fire in the barn causes a veritable blizzard of popcorn, with Pony Pony and her dog staring out at each other, goggle-eyed. The Huckabucks then take to the road for several years while they wait for "a sign, a signal" to return home. As they cover the Midwestern states, Small shows the family as a tightly knit trio, with a mother and daughter proud of Jonas Jonas's resourcefulness, whether he is driving a coal wagon or watching the watches in a watch factory. When the Huckabucks finally get their "sign" to return to their farm, Small makes the most of their homecoming: all the animals gather at the front door to welcome the Huckabucks home, newspapers spilling off the front stoop. He depicts the family's peripatetic lifestyle with wry wit and droll details, leading readers of this engaging book to feel they've met with the good kind of luck. All ages. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4-Finally, another of Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories has been made into a picture book-and a fine one. Jonas Jonas Huckabuck, his wife Mama Mama Huckabuck, and their daughter Pony Pony Huckabuck raise popcorn. One day, the child finds a Chinese silver slipper buckle inside a squash. Her parents say it's a sign that their luck will change. Sure enough, that night a fire starts in the barn and the popcorn starts to pop, until the entire farm is buried in it. The family leaves, traveling throughout the Midwest. In different towns, Pony Pony proudly watches as her father drives a coal car, digs ditches, or works as a watch-factory watchman. On Thanksgiving, three years later, she opens a squash, and there's the mate to the silver buckle. It's another sign, and so the family returns to the farm, ready to grow anything but popcorn. Small's watercolors burst with hue; each panoramic double-page spread is full of detail and the people look extraordinarily human in figure and expression. With exuberant energy, the artist illustrates the reverence Sandburg held for the Midwest-its farming, industry, and people. He communicated it through his rhythmic text that is delicious on the tongue-that plays, details, catalogs, and repeats until the story feels like a spell. His classic Depression-era migrant-worker fairy tale should spring to new life with this new version.Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4-The proud Huckabucks are forced to leave their farm and try their hands at other ways of life before making their way back to the land. The eye-popping ink-and-watercolor artwork is as bright as a summer morning and as expansive as a Nebraska cornfield. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Taken in its entirety from Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories, this delightful tale introduces the resilient Huckabuck family: Nebraska farmer Jonas Jonas Huckabuck, his wife Mama Mama Huckabuck, and daughter Pony Pony Huckabuck. Small's detailed watercolors portray the proud family through their ups, downs, and eventual return to the farm. The story was published in 1923, but Small sets his visual interpretation during the Depression, as indicated by a 1935 wall calendar. As the family moves from town to town and job to job, Papa Huckabuck continues to smile, putting his best face on things. The farm animals are even more expressive than the Huckabucks, sometimes alarmed, occasionally disgruntled, and often indignant. Most libraries have the Rootabaga Stories, but this pleasing version will attract a new audience and draw readers to the original work. Linda Perkins

From Kirkus Reviews
In a picture book subtitled ``And How They Raised Popcorn in Nebraska and Quit and Came Back,'' it's clear that the passage of time hasn't been kind to Sandburg's Huckabuck family; what was heralded as outrageously original in the 1920s is now simply silly. When Pony Pony Huckabuck discovers a silver buckle inside a squash, the family knows their luck will soon change, but in which direction? A fire in the barn spreads throughout the farm and results in an overflow of popped corn. This disaster provides the impetus for the Huckabuck family to move on in search of ``a sign and a signal'' telling them when to return. The repetition of names (Jonas Jonas Huckabuck, Mama Mama Huckabuck, and Pony Pony Huckabuck) is wearing, while the family's travels are pointless. Small's characteristically whimsical drawings are full of funny details, and far outshine this slight American fairy tale. (Picture book. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"Finally, another of Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories has been made into a picture book-and a fine one." --Starred, School Library Journal


Review
"Finally, another of Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories has been made into a picture book-and a fine one." --Starred, School Library Journal


Book Description
A picture-book version of the classic Rootabaga story.

Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories have amused generations of children with their distinctly American fairy-tale flavor. In The Huckabuck family, which was from his first collection, Jonas Jonas, Mama Mama, and Pony Pony Huckabuck must pull up stakes when a fire starts and their enormous popcorn harvest pops them out of house and farm. After traveling to towns all over the country, where Jonas Jonas tries out very different occupations, the family finally receives a portent that it's time to go home. This time they won't be farming popcorn, however. David Small's golden rendition of this strange and funny tale, with its delicious textual repetition, will be a happy introduction to Sandburg for many children.


Card catalog description
After the popcorn the Huckabucks had raised explodes in a fire and Pony Pony Huckabuck finds a silver buckle inside a squash, the family decides it is time for a change.

About the Author
Pulitzer Prize--winner Carl Sandburg (1878--1967) was one of the foremost writers of the twentieth century.

David Small is the author and/or illustrator of many books, including the Caldecott Honor Book The Gardener (written by Sarah Stewart). He lives in Michigan.

ANNOTATION

After the popcorn the Huckabucks had raised explodes in a fire and Pony Pony Huckabuck finds a silver buckle inside a squash, the family decides it is time for a change.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In a picture-book version of the classic Rootabaga story, the Huckabucks pull up stakes after a fire starts and their enormous popcorn harvest pops them out of house and farm.

FROM THE CRITICS

Horn Book

(Primary) As American as the Fourth of July, narrated with a Midwestern twang, laced with the kind of laid back tongue-in-cheek humor typical of the indigenous tall tale, Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories enjoyed a certain status in the storyteller's repertoire in earlier decades of the twentieth century. With a new treatment by David Small in picture-book format, this particular selection-subtly sophisticated, rooted in recognizable fairytale conventions, tempered with homespun ambiance-should reach a contemporary audience (Garrison Keillor's, perhaps). The characters have wonderfully logical if unusual names: Jonas Jonas Huckabuck, Mama Mama Huckabuck, and daughter Pony Pony Huckabuck ("if she doesn't hear me the first time, she always does the second"). The Huckabucks settle down to raise popcorn until a sign-a Chinese silver shoe buckle concealed in a squash-foretells a change in fortune. That night, a fire in the barn causes all their corn to pop. So, until the winds clear the farm, they move to Oskaloosa, Iowa; Paducah, Kentucky; Defiance, Ohio; Peoria, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Walla Walla, Washington, until the discovery of a matching silver buckle indicates that all is well at home-and so it is, but they never raise popcorn again! The figures, particularly Jonas, are drawn in a style reminiscent of the regional artists of the thirties; they are always in action, a feeling reinforced by the artist's agile line washed in colors suggestive of the prairie setting. m.m.b.

Publishers Weekly

According to PW, "The homespun, old-fashioned charm of Small's busy pictures makes the most of this winning narrative, first published in 1923 as one of Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories." Ages 5-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

The homespun, old-fashioned charm of Small's (The Gardener) busy pictures makes the most of this winning narrative, first published in 1923 as one of Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories. The comedy begins on a Nebraska corn farm owned by the Huckabucks: Jonas Jonas, Mama Mama and their daughter, Pony Pony ("I call my pony-face girl Pony Pony because if she doesn't hear me the first time, she always does the second," quips her father). The family's crop yields a bountiful harvest. But when Pony Pony finds a Chinese silver slipper buckle in the middle of a squash, her parents predict this means that their luck is going to change, "and we don't know whether it will be good luck or bad luck." A fire in the barn causes a veritable blizzard of popcorn, with Pony Pony and her dog staring out at each other, goggle-eyed. The Huckabucks then take to the road for several years while they wait for "a sign, a signal" to return home. As they cover the Midwestern states, Small shows the family as a tightly knit trio, with a mother and daughter proud of Jonas Jonas's resourcefulness, whether he is driving a coal wagon or watching the watches in a watch factory. When the Huckabucks finally get their "sign" to return to their farm, Small makes the most of their homecoming: all the animals gather at the front door to welcome the Huckabucks home, newspapers spilling off the front stoop. He depicts the family's peripatetic lifestyle with wry wit and droll details, leading readers of this engaging book to feel they've met with the good kind of luck. All ages. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature - Carol Lynch

Most adults are familiar with the opening line about the fog coming in on little cat feet, but have little else to connect with the poetry of Carl Sandburg. This book is the perfect opportunity to see a different side of Sandburg. Originally published in the 1920s as part of the collection he called the Rootabaga stories, The Huckabuck Family has been resurrected by Small and given a new life. The characters are a small family--Jonas Jonas Huckabuck, Mama Mama Huckabuck, and daughter Pony Pony Huckabuck--who have an unexpected streak of bad luck which begins when Pony Pony finds a silver shoe buckle inside of a squash she is going to make into a pie. The first wave results in the entire harvest of their popcorn farm popping them out of house and home when a fire starts in the barn. They cheerfully move on to a series of cities and occupations as they wait for their luck to change. Finally, the story comes full circle when Pony Pony cuts into another squash and is amazed to find a silver buckle identical to the one she found before. The family returns to the farm to continue their happy lives. The one difference is that they don't plant any popcorn this time. While the story is humorous, it may not be enough to hold the interest of a young audience. Small's illustrations are double-page spreads with loads of detail--these may be the salvation of the story.

Library Journal