Partridge’s (Oranges on Golden Mountain, p. 56, etc.) story is sweet and gentle and, if it is not highly (or even remotely) original, it will give beginning readers some fast-clipping exercise. The tale, crowned by Weston’s (Owen Foote, Super Spy, p. 1424, etc.) affectionate illustrations, revolves around the efforts of a mouse, Bo, to surprise his friend Annie with a present of his own making. Moved by the beauty of the moon glowing in the winter night’s sky, Bo decides to bake a “full moon cake” for Annie. The cake is just ready to come out of the oven when Annie appears at Bo’s door wanting to go skating. When he can’t stall her any longer, “Bo ran out and slammed the door behind him. He smiled at Annie. It was a great big smile. It was a fake smile. Bo couldn’t fool his best friend. ‘Bo,’ said Annie. ‘What are you hiding?’ ” He admits it’s a surprise, but keeps the secret close. After he rushes home from the skating pond to get the present, Annie begins to worry why he is taking so long. She runs into him in the woods making his way to her house. Since it’s dark, and he was throwing a scary shadow, and she was relieved to see him, Annie gives him a big hug. Bo dumps the cake. Wisely, Annie gets some forks and they tuck in. It’s fun having friends no matter what the circumstances, and part of that fun could be reading this together, with its voice parts—veritable bursts of prose—for an amiable duet. (Easy reader. 5-8)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-525-46728-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2001
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-399-24772-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008
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