Horn Book

A farmer harvesting his apples is accosted first by a little man named Take, then by Give. Following their advice, the farmer takes all of a neighbor's pumpkins in trade (resulting in an unpalatable pumpkin soup), then gives away apples (and unsolicited advice). When the antagonists fight, the farmer wisely thinks for himself. Brisk text and exuberant illustrations support each turn of this multi-leveled fable.

School Library Journal (Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

K-Gr 3 Bramble and Maggie return in this delightful tale about a girl and her horse. In soft gouache tones, the natural colors depict life on a farm, at the beach, and in the backyard where Maggie introduces Bramble to new places in their neighborhood. The illustrations provide support to the text, chapters are concise, and the narrative is developed well for comprehension and reading fluency. Maggie learns that by offering her horse a carrot, it is much easier to get her bridle on. Bramble is unhappy when Maggie and her family leave for the day and there is no one to apply bug spray or to keep her company. It is only when she ambles over to Mr. Dingle's fence and starts eating the neighbor's roses that she meets his hen and things start to change for her. The horse discovers that the hen eats all the bugs nearby, and she uses Bramble's back for a perch so the animals are much happier together. Full spreads and realistic artwork convey the characters' emotions well, helping emerging readers understand that friendships are often about give-and-take. Equine fans and those ready to progress to more substantial plots will enjoy this early reader. Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI

Kirkus Reviews

This delightful first chapter book improves upon its predecessor (Bramble and Maggie, 2012) from the same author/illustrator pair. Bramble, an opinionated mare, isn't about to be taken advantage of. For instance, she knows all about rides: "The rider sat in the saddle. The horse did all the hard work." Young Maggie, as always, has Bramble's number, and with a little judicious bribery (give-and-take, thinks Bramble), they are soon having adventures together, Maggie in the saddle, Bramble content. But with Maggie at school and her parents working all day, Bramble feels lonely. She copes by harassing their neighbor, Mr. Dingle, whose beloved garden is threatened both by Bramble and by his own recalcitrant hen. Mr. Dingle thinks he has a solution--revealed only in the illustrations--and with a little more give-and-take, everyone is happy. Haas combines realistic horse adventures and grade school pony love like no one else. Bramble is sassy but never scary; Maggie persistent and cheerful, but not all-knowing. Friend's enticing gouache illustrations appear on every page, a help to children just moving into longer books. Young readers will eat it up. (Fiction. 5-8)

Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Starred Review Meet an apple farmer who loves his apples. One day, he finds the apples of his oldest tree ripe and ready. But while he is picking, someone finds the farmer: an elfin little man named Take. When a grower asks the farmer if he'd like some pumpkins, Take insists the old fellow grab them all. So the farmer dumps the apples and brings home pumpkins instead, winding up with pots of pumpkin soup d he doesn't even like pumpkin soup. The next day, another little fellow appears, this one named Give. Give offers the opposite advice and insists that all of the picked apples ong with many opinions e given to a pig farmer. Finally, the third day sees Give and Take wrestling and squabbling until the farmer trades some of his apples for some of the miller's flour. The result? Apple pie! And now it is clear (and will be clear to the audience) that what Give and Take need are each other. This simple, powerful parable finds perfect expression in Raschka's wildly inventive ink-and-watercolor illustrations. Bold, exaggerated swirls depict the action as well as the emotional toll of the farmer's attempts to balance, well, everything: plans, pronouncements, and produce. Occasionally these dramatic images are a bit hard to decipher, but children will let their imaginations take over as they ponder how give-and-take can work for them. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Librarians and fans are always interested in what the multitalented Raschka is up to. Here he makes a welcome foray into the world of fables.