Readers will relish every gross and hilarious entry in this monstrous menu of misadventures, from the towering appetizer concocted by Frankenstein—a green-skinned Fred Gwynne in Rex’s detail-rich, superbly over-the-top illustrations—to the Japanese-inflected closer, “Godzilla Pooped on my Honda.” Interlaced with repeated appearances from an increasingly frantic Phantom of the Opera (who can’t get a succession of pop tunes out of his head), the verses and accompanying art go from suggesting unfortunate results when “The Invisible Man Gets A Haircut,” to making lurid allusions to the contents of “The Lunchsack of Notre Dame.” They range from why “The Yeti Doesn’t Appreciate Being Called Bigfoot,” to tracking the Mummy’s reluctance to bed down: “Here’s his new excuse: / He wants cookies with his juice. / But he won’t get far— / that’s his stomach in that jar.” Making Judy Sierra’s Monster Goose (2001), illustrated by Jack E. Davis, look like an exercise in restraint, here’s a read-aloud candidate sure to elicit loud screams—but not of fright. (Poetry. 6-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-15-205766-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2006
Iffy art cramps this 25th-anniversary reissue of the joyful title poem from Greenfield’s first collection (1978), illustrated by the Dillons. As timeless as ever, the poem celebrates everything a child loves, from kissing Mama’s warm, soft arm to listening to a cousin from the South, “ ’cause every word he says / just kind of slides out of his mouth.” “I love a lot of things / a whole lot of things,” the narrator concludes, “And honey, / I love ME, too.” The African-American child in the pictures sports an updated hairstyle and a big, infectious grin—but even younger viewers will notice that the spray of cool water that supposedly “stings my stomach” isn’t aimed there, and that a comforter on the child’s bed changes patterns between pages. More problematic, though, is a dropped doll that suddenly acquires a horrified expression that makes it look disturbingly like a live baby, and the cutesy winged fairy that hovers over the sleeping child in the final scene. The poem deserves better. (Picture book/poetry. 6-8)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-06-009123-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In a word, a feast for the eyes, brain, and artistic imagination.
Words and pictures connect in surprising, stimulating ways.
Talk about painting with words. Author/illustrator Paschkis plays with them, too, and encourages readers to do likewise. In the process, she explores the elasticity and seemingly endless possibilities of language. The vividly colored, wittily detailed, folk-style paintings on double-page spreads organically incorporate words into the artwork in wondrous, creative ways. Words frequently repeat in different sizes and colors; illustrated images include words that sound or are shaped like them, are variations of them, rhyme or nearly rhyme with them, sort of resemble them, are sort of spelled like them, etc. A bouquet of flowers in a vase sports roses exuding the scents of slumber, sultry, shush, and other evocative words beginning with S; on a daisy’s petals readers find dizzy, doozy, lazy, jazzy; lief, leap, life, and more decorate the leaves. Delightful words—many of which readers won’t know, and that’s OK—flex vocabulary and spelling muscles to the max and also enhance readers’ visual and auditory senses when the pictures are taken in. Furthermore, the spreads are connected to thought-provoking questions. Some inspired the paintings, or vice versa, and themselves contain examples of wordplay. Persons depicted have diverse skin tones. The book makes a great springboard for creative-thinking activities in writing and art units in classroom and library programs. Keep dictionaries handy. Endpapers abound with swirling words readers can savor (and look up).
In a word, a feast for the eyes, brain, and artistic imagination. (author's note) (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: July 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-59270-353-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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