Sinuous lines make a unifying visual motif for Patterson’s dark, richly colored pastels in this lightly abridged version of the classic tale. Young Elephant, deep blue and with a black knob on the end of his nose like a bowling ball, satisfies his “’satiable curiosity” (changed from “curtiosity”) about what crocodiles have for dinner by traveling to the great, grey-green, greasy Limpopo River (no longer “hung about with fever trees”) to ask, then returns to spank all of his abusive relatives with his permanently stretched-out trunk. The original’s actual language remains unchanged (with the exception noted above), and the removal of occasional phrases or sentences makes so little difference that it seems superfluous. The art is more inviting than the strange scenes in John Rowe’s edition (1995), but in the end, this one is extra, considering the several other abridged versions available, and the full one illustrated by Lorinda Bryan Cauley (1983). (Picture book/short story. 6-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-84507-068-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2007
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
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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