Oaf

by Julia Cunningham, Peter Sís (Illustrator)

Eight-year-old Oaf, seeking his fortune with a band of talking animals, seeks to rescue five dwarfs and a dancing fox from their cruel master.

Genres: Childrens

86 pages, Hardcover

First published February 12, 1986

About the author

On October 4, 1916 in Spokane, Washington, Julia Cunningham was born. Julia went to school for a short time in Virginia. She was an editor and held various other jobs before writing children's and young adult books. The Vision of Francois the Fox, Ms. Cunningham's first book, was published in 1960, followed by Viollet (1966), The Treasure is the Rose (1973), and Tuppeny (1978).

Her book, Dorp Dead (1965), has been called "a ground-breaking novel that dramatically changed children's literature in the 20th century."

As a children's author, Cunningham has felt she needs to "listen - look - daydream - be aware of smell and taste - and be "disciplined." Critics have praised her works for their originality and "poetic prose."

Among her many honors are the Christopher Medal for Come to the Edge and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor for The Flight of the Sparrow. The Treasure is the Rose was a National Book Award Finalist. Julia Cunningham lives in Santa Barbara, California.

Reviews

[Charlotte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found a copy for free. It is a fairytale-esque adventure of a boy of the good and simple sort of trope who makes friends with animals he can talk to as he adventures out on his own (this is all fine, if not wildly engrossing) and with the animal friends help rescues five captive dwarves kept drugged by a street performer who forces them to dance in his travelling show as if they were puppets at which point I only kept going because it was a short book and I am behind in my reading challenge.

[Sharon Zink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several animals join forces with a homeless boy named Oaf and rescue a troupe of performers from a tyrannical master.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the characters in this book and the endearing illustrations. I thought the story lost focus a little bit in the second half but all in all it is a charming book to read to children of about 8.

[Rhett · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite childhood books.