The story is rather violent by current standards, but the accomplished visuals in this edition serve its rich, resonant...
Painterly portraits of African wildlife add naturalistic notes to this ever popular Just So story.
“In the High and Far-off Times the Elephant, O Best Beloved, had no trunk.” Except that the much-spanked pachyderm’s “ ’satiable curtiosity” has inexplicably been changed throughout to “ ’satiable curiosity,” the text with its glorious wordplay is, like the storyline, intact. Lauströer leaves backgrounds sketchy but lavishes attention on his animals—all of which are dark, solid, massive figures, depicted realistically enough to be practically smellable. Sometimes he follows the storyline literally, even putting into the scene accompanying the short-nosed young enquirer’s first impression of the crocodile a rather predatory-looking tree trunk. Elsewhere he lets fancy fly, festooning the tail of an ostrich with daisies, for instance, and transforming the white pattern on a giraffe into a loose net in which the lively Elephant’s Child is tangled. In the wake of the return of Elephant’s Child with a long trunk just right for meting out corporal punishment of his own, all of his relatives rush off to “borrow” new noses from Crocodile, and their return parade sporting stretched-out schnozzes (even the zebra and wildebeest) caps the pictures in droll style.
The story is rather violent by current standards, but the accomplished visuals in this edition serve its rich, resonant language nicely. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-988-8341-67-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Charming.
An assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.
Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, old-fashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin.
Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942485
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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