In his latest stunner, Sabuda pairs a version of the tale that is less abridged than most retellings to paper-engineered effects that, as usual, raise the bar of the physically possible.
His trademark set-piece centerpieces start with the sea king’s coral castle—rearing up more than 14 inches in an intricately interwoven construct—and end with a high-ceilinged, multilayer wedding stage. Around these, the tale plays out largely on side flaps and inset booklets that themselves feature multiple layers and many small but no less brilliantly designed pop-ups. In scenes both above and below the ocean surface, rich colors blend and flow in tonal sweeps that echo the artist’s linework for elegance as well as the courageous mermaid’s intense inner emotions. Carrying the tale up to her hard-earned transformation to a spirit of the air, Sabuda has preserved the original’s events and much of its imagery in his rendition while dispensing with Andersen’s wordier flights of description and, thankfully, the heavily moralistic concluding passage. As with all of Sabuda’s pop-up creations, the spreads should be teased open rather than pulled to minimize the chance of tearing. The rewards are well worth taking such care. A magnificent counter to the Disney pap. (Pop-up/fairy tale. 9-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4169-6080-5
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
Eleven-year-old Griffin Bing is “the man with the plan.” If something needs doing, Griffin carefully plans a fix and his best friend Ben usually gets roped in as assistant. When the town council ignores his plan for a skate park on the grounds of the soon-to-be demolished Rockford House, Griffin plans a camp-out in the house. While there, he discovers a rare Babe Ruth baseball card. His family’s money worries are suddenly a thing of the past, until unscrupulous collectables dealer S. Wendell Palomino swindles him. Griffin and Ben plan to snatch the card back with a little help. Pet-lover Savannah whispers the blood-thirsty Doberman. Rock-climber “Pitch” takes care of scaling the house. Budding-actor Logan distracts the nosy neighbor. Computer-expert Melissa hacks Palomino’s e-mail and the house alarm. Little goes according to plan, but everything turns out all right in this improbable but fun romp by the prolific and always entertaining Korman. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-439-90344-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2008
Ordinary kids in an extraordinary setting: still a recipe for bright achievements and belly laughs.
Rejoice! 25 years later, Wayside School is still in session, and the children in Mrs. Jewls’ 30th-floor classroom haven’t changed a bit.
The surreal yet oddly educational nature of their misadventures hasn’t either. There are out-and-out rib ticklers, such as a spelling lesson featuring made-up words and a determined class effort to collect 1 million nail clippings. Additionally, mean queen Kathy steps through a mirror that turns her weirdly nice and she discovers that she likes it, a four-way friendship survives a dumpster dive after lost homework, and Mrs. Jewls makes sure that a long-threatened “Ultimate Test” allows every student to show off a special talent. Episodic though the 30 new chapters are, there are continuing elements that bind them—even to previous outings, such as the note to an elusive teacher Calvin has been carrying since Sideways Stories From Wayside School (1978) and finally delivers. Add to that plenty of deadpan dialogue (“Arithmetic makes my brain numb,” complains Dameon. “That’s why they’re called ‘numb-ers,’ ” explains D.J.) and a wild storm from the titular cloud that shuffles the school’s contents “like a deck of cards,” and Sachar once again dishes up a confection as scrambled and delicious as lunch lady Miss Mush’s improvised “Rainbow Stew.” Diversity is primarily conveyed in the illustrations.
Ordinary kids in an extraordinary setting: still a recipe for bright achievements and belly laughs. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-296538-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
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