A young rider imagines the horses she’ll have when she grows up in this charming equestrian alphabet. To introduce each letter, Haas and Apple (Runaway Radish, not reviewed) highlight different horse breeds and horse-related words. The opening spread, for example, shows “Spotted Appaloosas”—with the “A” highlighted in bold—next to “Arabian steeds.” Later, the girl dreams that “[Her] Lippizans will perform lively leaps, the lightest of lengthenings, lovely levades.” For the letter “X,” Haas recalls the Greek general Xenophon, “who wrote the first text about horses.” Says the narrator, “I’ll examine it often for expert advice.” Rendered in colored pencils, and defined by soft yet studied strokes, Apple’s illustrations portray the animals’ strength and beauty. With centerpiece sketches often flanked by smaller drawings, there is much to admire: a double-page spread for “Q” and “R” shows the narrator touching a blue ribbon to the neck of her “Quarter horse”; seven smaller drawings show them “barrel racing,” “reining” and “calf roping” in a rodeo. Haas’s “More About Horses” section provides detail, highlighting in bold print the breeds and terminology mentioned in the story. While sure to entice horse lovers, Haas and Apple’s offering will also appeal to youngsters as they explore unfamiliar territory in a well-worn format. A fitting addition to the creator’s equine oeuvre; a fine supplement to the ABC canon. (Picture book. 5-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-688-17880-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2001
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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