Sure to warm the auricles of newly independent readers (and older reading advocates) everywhere, this rhapsody features a brown-and-white bunny only a little bigger than its beloved storybook. Not only is it satisfying as an object (“It shades me on a sunny day. I love to make its pages flick . . . ”), but as a gateway to “a magic forest” filled with “special friends,” from a giant and a sleeping princess to rabbit-eared fairies and other magical creatures. Well-populated with toadstools and unicorns, ferns and flying mice, the forest really does have a magical look in Jeram’s (Kiss Good Night, 2001, etc.) pale, idyllic watercolors. Though parents will be eager to share this with their own little bunnies, it’s really a celebration of the joys of going one-on-one with a volume, of choosing where and how to read it, and when to stop. Understandably, though, “I love it from the beginning / all the way / right through to . . . the end.” (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7636-1698-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2002
While her father mows the lawn at her new house, Caroline wonders how it could actually reflect the street’s name. Soon she finds a small blossom growing in the grass, then another, and eventually persuades Dad to sell the mower while the yard grows freely with wildflowers. Adding a maple tree and a man-made pond attracts an assortment of wildlife from birds, to insects, to a mud turtle and a meadow mouse. Neighbors are encouraged to follow suit, creating meadow environments rather than pristine lawns. Full-color acrylic paintings in double-paged spreads of multiple shades of green, dotted with hues of summer flowers, tell this nature-lover’s story which suggests the possibility of chemical-free garden environments. Though the message will be missed by young children, most will enjoy a final rendering of all the meadow creatures next to their proper names that now live on Meadowview Street. Gentle persuasion for the naturalist in everyone. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: May 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-06-056481-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A traditional cumulative tale, which Aylesworth (My Sister's Rusty Bike, 1996, etc.) endows with a lively pace, is illustrated in a decidedly old-fashioned style, giving the book the look and feel of a reproduction of an old edition. Working with precise pen-and-ink, McClintock portrays the cozy home of an elderly couple, dressed in Victoriana and in possession of a great wood-burning stove. Her work has never been more animated than in the scenes of the two-dimensional gingerbread man running away, exuberantly eluding everyone elsethe couple, a butcher, and a cow and pig dressed in human clothesuntil he is devoured by a fox. The portrayals of a cow and pig are more bizarre than charming, and the too-obvious wrinkles on the elderly people's faces are one example of eccentric choices on the part of the illustrator.With Richard Egielski's The Gingerbread Boy (1997) hot off the press and other fine variations of the tale still in print, it's hard to make the case for this one, other than to appreciate its antique look. (Picture book/folklore. 4-6)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-590-97219-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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