by Kara LaReau & illustrated by Scott Magoon ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2008
“Stay away from my garden—or else!” Her crunchiest carrots, his sweetest sweet peas.... Neighbors Rabbit and Squirrel blame each other for pillaging their respective, carefully kept gardens. Actually, as Magoon makes clear in his digitally created, deceptively gooney cartoons, the culprit is a human gardener who comes back later to chase the still-quarreling animals out of what she regards as her garden and off into the dark woods. “One of these days,” readers are assured, “they’ll grow tired of fighting. And then, hopefully, they’ll learn to grow something new.” Along with the idea that wars can be touched off by jumping to conclusions or other mistakes, the lack of a pat resolution to the hostilities makes this a good discussion-starter—and also sets it apart from the general run of simplistic peace-mongering titles. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-15-206307-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2008
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by Doreen Cronin & illustrated by Harry Bliss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2005
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
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by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Brian Cronin
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by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Betsy Lewin
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by David Shannon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1999
The poster boy for relentless mischief-makers everywhere, first encountered in No, David! (1998), gives his weary mother a rest by going to school. Naturally, he’s tardy, and that’s but the first in a long string of offenses—“Sit down, David! Keep your hands to yourself! PAY ATTENTION!”—that culminates in an afterschool stint. Children will, of course, recognize every line of the text and every one of David’s moves, and although he doesn’t exhibit the larger- than-life quality that made him a tall-tale anti-hero in his first appearance, his round-headed, gap-toothed enthusiasm is still endearing. For all his disruptive behavior, he shows not a trace of malice, and it’ll be easy for readers to want to encourage his further exploits. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-48087-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
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