by Patricia Reilly Giff & illustrated by Alasdair Bright ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2011
The third in the Zigzag Kids series, which features a culturally diverse, tight-knit cast and focuses on one character per installment, turns to would-be inventor Charlie. Charlie can’t wait to show off his new invention to his buddies in the after-school program. Unfortunately, the red sneakers with glued-on suction cups are about as successful at climbing walls as his Breathe-underwater Box was at supplying air. So far, his inventions aren't helping him to live up to his older brother’s stellar reputation with the teachers at Zigzag School. Compounding his woes, Mrs. Farelli picks him to organize the Come as a Character Day and dress as Peter Rabbit. It's a tough week for Charlie as he struggles with self-doubt and others’ expectations. As the day of the event approaches Charlie begins to feel the wonderful buzz signaling an idea for an invention. Could there be an opportunity in a huge load of detritus Jake the Sweeper's truck dumped in the playground by accident? Now he’s got a plan that, if successful, could help everyone and prove that junk is in the eye of the beholder. The cheerful drawings offer levity to the spare, straightforward prose laid out in one- or two-sentence paragraphs. The tension builds mildly, exploring the concept of individuality and the expanding pressures of growing up, demonstrating Giff's keen understanding of chapter-book readers. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: April 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-385-73887-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
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by Patricia Reilly Giff & illustrated by Alasdair Bright
by Patricia Reilly Giff & illustrated by Alasdair Bright
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by Patricia Reilly Giff ; illustrated by Abby Carter
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by Dr. Seuss ; illustrated by Dr. Seuss ; introduction by Charles D. Cohen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 2014
Fans both young and formerly young will be pleased—100 percent.
Published in magazines, never seen since / Now resurrected for pleasure intense / Versified episodes numbering four / Featuring Marco, and Horton and more!
All of the entries in this follow-up to The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories (2011) involve a certain amount of sharp dealing. Horton carries a Kwuggerbug through crocodile-infested waters and up a steep mountain because “a deal is a deal”—and then is cheated out of his promised share of delicious Beezlenuts. Officer Pat heads off escalating, imagined disasters on Mulberry Street by clubbing a pesky gnat. Marco (originally met on that same Mulberry Street) concocts a baroque excuse for being late to school. In the closer, a smooth-talking Grinch (not the green sort) sells a gullible Hoobub a piece of string. In a lively introduction, uber-fan Charles D. Cohen (The Seuss, The Whole Seuss, and Nothing but the Seuss, 2002) provides publishing histories, places characters and settings in Seussian context, and offers insights into, for instance, the origin of “Grinch.” Along with predictably engaging wordplay—“He climbed. He grew dizzy. His ankles grew numb. / But he climbed and he climbed and he clum and he clum”—each tale features bright, crisply reproduced renditions of its original illustrations. Except for “The Hoobub and the Grinch,” which has been jammed into a single spread, the verses and pictures are laid out in spacious, visually appealing ways.
Fans both young and formerly young will be pleased—100 percent. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-385-38298-4
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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illustrated by Dr. Seuss
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by Dr. Seuss ; illustrated by Andrew Joyner
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by Anne-Sophie Baumann ; illustrated by Didier Balicevic ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2017
There’s lots to see and do in this big city.
A set of panoramic views of the urban environment: inside and out, above and belowground, at street level and high overhead.
Thanks to many flaps, pull tabs, spinners, and sliders, viewers can take peeks into stores and apartments, see foliage change through the seasons in a park, operate elevators, make buildings rise and come down, visit museums and municipal offices, take in a film, join a children’s parade, marvel as Christmas decorations go up—even look in on a wedding and a funeral. Balicevic populates each elevated cartoon view with dozens of tiny but individualized residents diverse in age, skin tone, hair color and style, dress, and occupation. He also adds such contemporary touches as an electrical charging station for cars, surveillance cameras, smartphones, and fiber optic cables. Moreover, many flaps conceal diagrammatic views of infrastructure elements like water treatment facilities and sources of electrical power or how products ranging from plate glass and paper to bread, cheese, and T-shirts are manufactured (realistically, none of the workers in the last are white). Baumann’s commentary is largely dispensable, but she does worthily observe on the big final pop-up spread that cities are always changing—often, nowadays, becoming more environmentally friendly.
There’s lots to see and do in this big city. (Informational novelty. 6-9)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 979-1-02760-079-3
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
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by Anne-Sophie Baumann ; illustrated by Éléanore Della Malva ; translated by Wendeline A. Hardenberg
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by Anne-Sophie Baumann ; illustrated by Hélène Convert ; translated by Wendeline A. Hardenberg
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by Anne-Sophie Baumann & Pierrick Graviou ; illustrated by Didier Balicevic
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