In this distant cousin to Harold and the Purple Crayon, a pencil draws a smiling boy (previously met in Ahlberg and Ingman’s Runaway Dinner, 2006) and names him “Banjo.” At Banjo’s behest the pencil adds and names a family, pets, an entire world and a paintbrush to color it all in. When some of the figures start complaining about their details, the pencil obligingly creates a rubber eraser—which turns out to be a mistake, as the eraser proceeds to “rub out” everything and everyone. Sensitive readers may find this part slightly disturbing, but it does create plenty of suspense. Just when entropy looks assured of a win, the fleeing pencil turns on a last, blank page and draws a second eraser—and then, after the two rub each other out, proceeds to remake all that had been lost. Cosmic overtones, anyone? Like its classic antecedent, this may not only inspire some creative world-building in budding artists, it also gives the relationship between story and audience an additional interactive aspect. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3894-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2008
IN THE NEWS
The traditional semi-nomadic life of the Masai of Tanzania. Notes by both Margolies and the Tanzanian Ambassador to the U.N. point out the dilemma of a people who fear encroaching change and cling to the old while recognizing the benefits of the new. Cattle are the focus of Masai existence; when grass is depleted, they move on. Children don't attend school; they live with parasites, trachoma, malaria, flies, and predators and without modern medical care. As more Masai settle on farms or in cities, traditions become more difficult to maintain. The author's portrait of an exotic culture where roles are strictly defined by sex and age is straightforward and nonjudgmental in showing various group members at work and play and the ceremony for boys entering manhood. Unfortunately, her photography is technically and artistically inferior to that in her book about New Guinea (Warriors, Wigmen, and the Crocodile People, 1993); it suffers from poor resolution, reflections, bad composition and lighting, and unfortunate framing and cropping. Still, an adequate additional purchase where demand is high and Kroll's Masai and I (1992) needs supplementing. (Nonfiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-02-762284-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Four Winds/MacMillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
Folklorist White's first picture book—a simply told, deliciously gruesome tale of a witch stalking two succulent children—will rivet young readers. When their father leaves the baobab treehouse to go fishing, he warns the two not to lower the rope ladder until he calls. Hearing this, a passing witch sticks her tongue into a hill of biting ants to disguise her voice; when that doesn't work, she puts it into a nest of scorpions. Finally, she tricks a dinner invitation out of the father, but the clever daughter (who has seen through all her subterfuges) hides a fishhook in her food. Krîmer's loose-jointed, brightly clad figures framed in African motifs give the story a theatrical look. The witch (cat's eyes, fixed, toothy grin, swollen tongue) is suitably frightful; at her death, all the children she's ever eaten come back to life and fill the treehouse with happy babble. A strong debut for both author and illustrator. No source or comments on the adaption are given. (Folklore/Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 15, 1994
ISBN: 0-671-79818-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1994
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
