Wendell Fultz has a problem picking up after himself. His room is a war zone of toys, clothes, and food. It might even be mistaken for a pigsty. Naturally enough, some pigs move in, increasing in number as the mess grows and grows. Wendell has a fine time with his new pals, playing Monopoly, having pillow fights, bouncing on the bed. The porcine intruders disappear when mom comes for a visit. When Wendell finds his basketball deflated and chomps taken from his baseball cards, he dragoons the porkers into tidying his room. They grudgingly comply, then take their leave, Wendell's spotless digs no longer to their liking. Wendell's mended ways are confusing in a story that is artful until this point: After all the fun, the abrupt moralizing has no toehold; it's as forgettable as it was easy to come by. On the other hand, Teague's (The Field Beyond the Outfield, 1992, etc.) illustrations are searingly good, lush cartoony acrylics, and the amiable indolence of the pigs is totally capturing. You'll want to give these good-time Charlies space in your room, rent free. (Fiction/Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-590-45915-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 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
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