The animals' sports meet is the most good-natured of field days, from the eagerly anticipated arrival of the opossum Burbank with the torch to the celebratory picnic when Ardsley and Hastings (elephants) sing a duet as the others drift contentedly off to sleep. Like those at any school, the contestants' shapes and capabilities are diverse: Old Mr. Crenshaw (a mole) paces himself in the ``Deepest Hole Contest'' (``I save my best digging for the end'') and finally has to drop out (``I'm pooped...I gave it my best shot''). Judgments evolve sensibly in process (since no one can actually see the moles' tunnels, the one who says he got to where ``everybody was speaking Chinese'' is declared the winner). When several snails are impeded in the high hurdles not only by their natural pace but also by their leisurely chatting, the judge takes a lunch break only to find all the contestants on the finish line when he returns. As much fun as the ongoing banter are the names and amiably idiosyncratic characterizations, splendidly extended in Stevenson's (Fun/No Fun, p. 637, etc.) depictions in watercolor and his free-flowing line; there are deliciously comical vignettes on each easily read page. A lovely early chapter book that adults will find difficult to resist sharing aloud. (Fiction/Easy reader. 4-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-688-12923-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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