Digital art in an accomplished, painterly style adds both noir atmosphere and plenty of sight gags to this tale of two unsuspecting gourmands who accept an invitation to a weekend’s feasting at the home of a mysterious new neighbor. Glenda and Horace Pork-Fowler, a goose and a pig, respectively, are initially put off when their host fails to appear, but that doesn’t last long as—thanks to an elaborate set of robotic arms—full tables, a stuffed fridge, bountiful picnic hampers, and comfy beds await them. For readers who miss the clues provided by Eatum Hall’s collection of art featuring wolves and prey, and shelves filled with wolfish bric-a-brac, Kelly provides glimpses of a snout withdrawing into the shadows, a furry silhouette watching a bank of closed-circuit TV screens, and a blueprint for an oversized pie-making appliance. When that device fails beneath the weight of its rotund intended victims, the Pork-Fowlers obliviously motor back to their own home, Dunfastin, leaving readers to admire their unwavering devotion to mealtime—and to laugh as their supposed nemesis is hoist by his own pie-tard. A confection, but a delicious one. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-7636-2594-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
Keena Ford’s second-grade class is taking a field trip to the United States Capitol. This good-hearted girl works hard to behave, but her impulsive decisions have a way of backfiring, no matter how hard she tries to do the right thing. In this second book in a series, Keena cuts off one of her braids and later causes a congressman to fall down the stairs. The first-person journal format is a stretch—most second graders can barely write, let alone tell every detail of three days of her life. Children will wonder how Keena can cut one of her “two thick braids” all the way off by pretend-snipping in the air. They will be further confused because the cover art clearly shows Keena with a completely different hairdo on the field trip than the one described. Though a strong African-American heroine is most welcome in chapter books and Keena and her family are likable and realistic, this series needs more polish before Keena writes about her next month in school. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3264-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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