“Inspired by a true event,” says the dust jacket, as one morning in Ballyconneely two strangers appear, to vie for the job of dance teacher in the village. Michael is slick and dapper; Aidan rough-hewn and windblown, but both are grand dancers indeed. Each chooses a tune for the other to dance to, and the competition takes them from a plank door laid on the ground to a barrelhead to a stone wall. Aidan finally trumps it all by dancing “The Cooley Races” on top of a cottage chimney, until he flies into the air with the power of his steps. (A lift-up page captures the event.) The illustrations recall the colors of the Irish countryside well, but the artist is less successful with the figures, who have blunt, undistinguishable features and ungraceful limbs. The dancers’ feet, however, seen from many angles, are an interesting focus. (note, pronunciation guide, bibliography) (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 17, 2005
ISBN: 0-8118-4431-5
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2005
A tall-tale introduction to the ``King of the Keelboatmen,'' from the time he ran away from home at the age of two days to his literally explosive confrontation with steamboat captain Hilton B. Blathersby. The historical Fink was a cruel man who came to a violent end, but Kellogg depicts him as a friendly-looking, fun-loving youth; indeed, nearly all of the keelboatmen here- -black, white, old, and young—are smiling, clean-cut types, rather at odds with their usual roughneck image. Though Fink spends much of his time wrestling men or bears, Kellogg's description of him seems bland in comparison to his glowing, energetic illustrations, and less heroic than his other legendary figures. (Picture book/Folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 21, 1992
ISBN: 0-688-07003-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1992
“Little Shop of Horrors” for the teddy bear set? Not at all, despite similarities: in this warmhearted tale, a tropical plant with a taste for meat goes from scary houseguest to beloved family member. Nolen (Max and Jax in Second Grade, p. 342, etc.) sketches the plot in a series of letters from young Mortimer Henryson and his parents to Mortimer’s science teacher, Mr. Lester. Having sat next to “Plantcilia” all through third grade, Mortimer begs permission to bring it home for the summer, but after it proves to be both mobile and carnivorous (the family Chihuahua vanishes), his mother is beseeching Mr. Lester to take it back. With characteristic comic extravagance, Catrow (We the Kids, p. 564, etc.) fleshes out the details in a series of frenetic scenes increasingly crowded with long, snaky tendrils, ragged leaves, and bulbous green appendages with ominously toothy rims. As the summer goes on, however, Plantzilla proves less a menace than an eager asset, as capable of playing field hockey with Mortimer as jazz for his boogying parents—even spitting out the unharmed dog and, ultimately, writing a letter of its own: “PEEEple Gooood. I wil sta widdem fro ever!” Readers, plant-lovers or otherwise, will find this vegetative visitor taking root in their affections too. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-15-202412-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Whistle/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2002
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