The Tumbleweed Came Back

by Carmela LaVigna Coyle, Kevin Rechin (Illustrator)

Overview

When a pesky tumbleweed drops in for lunch one day, hilarity ensues. In this zany retelling of the popular folk tune “The Cat Came Back,” what starts as a small problem grows into a giant conundrum when one tumbleweed turns into ten, then twenty, then thousands. Granny and her two grandchildren do their best to rid their farm of the scratchy menaces, but the harder they try, the more the tumbleweeds take over. The text’s infectious rhythm is brought to life by colorful, funny illustrations. The combination makes for a rollicking read that will have children and parents rolling around with laughter.

​​​​​​​This is updated from a previous edition of the book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493087020
Publisher:	Globe Pequot Publishing
Publication date:	11/19/2024
Edition description:	Enhanced
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Carmela LaVigna Coyle is an award-winning author of over a dozen picture and board books. Her popular Do Princesses...series is a favorite among the not-your-ordinary-princess crowd. Carmela has worked with a variety of stellar illustrators including Mike Gordon, Kevin Rechin, Steve Grey, Bruce McPherson, and Carly Allen-Fletcher. She has a degree in Education and Art, but insists her real education comes from long walks in nature and motherhood. She lives in Colorado with her family and lively shi-poo dog.

Kevin Rechin is a nationally recognized cartoonist and a native of the Washington, DC area. After receiving his degree from VCU in 1989, he eventually was hired as a staff artist at USA Today. While at USAToday, he built a substantial freelance clientele and struck out on his own in 1999. His work has appeared in most major publications including Time, Smithsonian, Wall Street Journal, Texas Monthly, Forbes, and National Geographic, among others. In addition to editorial work, Kevin has pursued more commercial projects with Hasbro, Disney, Dreamworks, and Fox Sports. The National Cartoonist Society recognized his work in 1999 with a Reuben award for magazine illustration.

Editorial Reviews

2013-10-01
A spin on "The Cat Came Back," with a Southwestern accent. The book is illustrated David Catrow–style, with chaotic, loosely brushed scenes featuring popeyed livestock (mostly chickens) and exuberantly posed rural folk with flyaway hair. The rhyme itself follows the original's cadences in tracking one tumbleweed that, disposed of, returns with more and more. Looking like hairy bowling balls in the pictures, the tumbleweeds flourish despite being dumped into the Rio Grande, tied to balloons, crammed into a train, even deported to the future in a time machine: "Even more came back! / They just wouldn't stay away." Blasting them into outer space brings peace at last--until, that is, the sun goes down and they plummet back to Earth, along with a few stray chickens that had accidentally gone along for the ride. Though the scansion is a bit forced at times, the mood is upbeat; a victorious conga line of humans and farm animals is a particularly chuckle-inducing treat. Equally suited to being sung or recited, a down-home alternative to a favorite ditty. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews