Mild-mannered bookworm by day, international troubleshooter by night! Little Eliot, with curly red hair like his mother and large round red-framed eyeglasses, is a model child. Quiet and obedient, he reads nearly all day and regularly feeds his pet goldfish. But at night, when all are sleeping, Eliot dons his superhero garb (green cape and boots and briefs featuring a gold “E”) and flies all over the world solving major (and minor) problems. Among the former: He helps the Coast Guard rescue a ship from dangerous rocks, uses code-cracking skills to find the Queen’s stolen jewels and launches a rocket that bursts a meteor on a collision course with Earth. He also finds time to return lost teddy bears. Cottinger’s delightful fantasy is ably abetted by Smith’s scruffy mixed-media illustrations, busy and bright and full of additional jokes (such as the ocean liner that sports the name “The Rubber Ducky” and a bemused mountain goat he buzzes by in the Himalayas). Walter Mitty–class drollery that should appeal to children and adults alike. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-58925-083-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
Give this book an F, yes, an F: for fun and funny
This (mostly) wordless book opens with the titular little red cat running out of his house toward an alligator with open jaws, and a chase begins.
Here and on each page with a distinct, new alphabetical element that follows are printed only the upper- and lowercase initials of the relevant word: “Aa.” A bear follows the alligator, followed by a chicken, then a dragon, and an egg, which issues from the startled chicken upon espying the dragon. Cat, alligator, bear, chicken, and egg (which has tiny, pipestem legs) all put on (sun)glasses to avoid the glare of the dragon’s fire, ice skate across a frozen pond, swing on vines through a jungle, and so on. Befitting the quirky visual narrative, the letters are a surprising mix: L is for a “lost” poster with the cat’s picture on it, R is for a restroom, T is for tired, and W for wave, as the characters bid one another adieu. There’s humor in small details and large, as in the double-page spread in which the characters plummet off a cliff and the text screams: “Nnnnnnnn Oooooooo!” Thank goodness they deploy parachutes in the following spread, which requires readers to turn the book 90 degrees for its full effect. McDonnell’s drawings use simple lines to generate action, and the background is a white expanse that keeps the focus on the colored line figures. A legend in the back identifies the specific words referenced by the letters.
Give this book an F, yes, an F: for fun and funny . (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-50246-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
A read worth waiting for.
Two children find themselves on a time-traveling adventure while they wait for Grandpa’s cookies to come out of the oven.
When Kat and Ari build a time machine, they set it for “the future, to just after the cookies [are] finished baking.” But they end up bouncing through time—to that evening, when the cookies have already been eaten, then back to their very first time baking with Grandpa as young tots. Then they find themselves in the very distant future. Through this journey, Kat and Ari realize that waiting’s much easier when you lean into enjoying the passage of time together. Soft pastel colors convey this message deftly. Speeding through time, the children fly past an ombre rainbow. A wash of blue instantly indicates a nighttime scene lit by the light of Grandpa’s front porch. The far-off future includes plenty for readers to take in: a house with legs, a dragon-inspired airplane, and special tubes through which townspeople float through in place of streets. Effective use of panels moves the narrative along and gives it a graphic novel–esque feel. This playful story examines a child’s natural impatience while showcasing how very rewarding and special waiting can be. Grandpa has light brown skin, while Kat has tan skin; Ari presents Black.
A read worth waiting for. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781665936743
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
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