by Howard Norman & illustrated by Leo Dillon & Diane Dillon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2004
From the creators of The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese (1997), a less ambitious outing: five tales from a workshop run by Norman (15 years ago), illustrated with art that tries to look like leaded stained glass. Except for “The Bird Who Sang Like a Warthog,” which resembles Rodanas’s The Blind Hunter (2003), the stories are new. A “Disobedient Daughter” forces Goolayyahlee the pelican to teach Aboriginal people how to make fishing nets; a “Beautiful Quail” survives a drought in Sri Lanka thanks to the kindness of others; and the transformation of residents of a remote Chinese village into swans when they die becomes “The Swan-Scholar’s Great Secret.” All told in the same formal, restrained tone, the tales receive individuality from the names of the characters, and also from evocative motifs in the stylized art—though the Dillons’ use of a diffuse line makes the colors look watery. Norman identifies the original tellers in a long afterword that’s more about the workshop than the stories. Though handsomely packaged, this pricey gathering won’t draw or keep the interest of child readers or tellers. (Folktales. 8-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-15-201982-0
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Gulliver/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2004
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adapted by Howard Norman & illustrated by Leo Dillon & Diane Dillon
by Dick King-Smith & illustrated by Jill Barton ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2001
The author of Babe, the Gallant Pig (1985) offers another winner with this tale of a bright pig and her canny young keeper “training” a spoiled princess. When Princess Penelope demands a pig for her eighth birthday, her over-indulgent father requires every pig keeper in the country to assemble with a likely porcine candidate. The princess settles on Lollipop, who turns out to be the sole possession of penniless orphan Johnny Skinner. As only Johnny can get Lollipop to sit, roll over, or poop outdoors, soon lad and pig are comfortably ensconced together in a royal stall—at least until the pig can be persuaded to respond to the Princess’s commands. It’s only the beginning of a meteoric rise for Johnny, and for Lollipop too, as the two conspire to teach the princess civilized manners, and end up great favorites of the entire royal family. Barton (Rattletrap Car, p. 504, etc.) captures Penelope’s fuming, bratty character perfectly in a generous array of line drawings, and gives Lollipop an expression of affectionate amusement that will win over readers as effortlessly as it wins over the princess and her parents. Move over, Wilbur. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7636-1269-3
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2001
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by Dick King-Smith & illustrated by Nick Bruel
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by Dick King-Smith & illustrated by Mini Grey
by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Shawn Harris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2024
File under “laugh riot.”
A rogue spell-check program’s bid to transform all life-forms into that eminently useful office item, the paper clip, touches off a fresh round of lunar lunacy.
Predicated on the entirely reasonable premise that eliminating all spelling and grammar errors everywhere would logically lead to the necessity of exterminating carbon-based life in the universe, this third series entry combines high stakes with daffy banter and daring exploits. CheckMate—a chipper, jumped-up editing program—has invented the Transmogratron, a giant laser that will fulfill its ultimate goals in both the cyber world and “meatspace.” Facing challenges as random as prankster lunar unicorns and a disarmingly motherly Motherboard, scowling First Cat joins a motley crew of diversely carbon- and silicon-based allies, led by the pearlescent Queen of the Moon. They’re in a race to the finish—diverted occasionally by, for instance, a relentlessly punny comic-book interlude featuring a pair of literal and figurative Pool Sharks. They ultimately triumph thanks to teamwork and moxie. Following a celebratory party and toasts to “new friends…and steadfast comrades” (and, of course, “MEOW”), the story’s energetic, brightly colored panels close with a reveal of the next volume. (“I always hate it when comics end by announcing a sequel. SO CRINGE!” declares an authorial stand-in.) It can’t come too soon.
File under “laugh riot.” (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780063315280
Page Count: 272
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Sydney Smith
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by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Jon Klassen
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