paper 0-8027-8697 Rockwell’s story of a young boy searching for the perfect pumpkin is more of a meditation than a story to evoke the spirit of a season. A boy is in pursuit of the perfect pumpkin: “big and round and orange as a setting sun.” At the farmer’s market he searches until he discovers just the right one, which had rolled off to one side: “I think it was waiting there just for me.” He takes it home and then, with his mother handling the knife, they craft a fine jack-o’-lantern that glows mysteriously in the night. Halsey’s pretty paper sculptures give the story visual snap, with their intriguing shadow play and sharp relief. Rockwell’s occasional stabs at seasonal atmospherics—the smell of pumpkins baking (the mother has bought ten little ones for a pie), apples ripening, the turning leaves—only falteringly conjure an autumnal mood. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8027-8696-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
From Powell (A Bold Carnivore, 1995) comes Gary Paulsen-like insight: Once a sled dog, always a sled dog, for although a Newfoundland named Cora is getting too old to pull, her owners can’t get the hearty dog to quit. Every Christmas the dogs help a mother, father, and Susan bring home a Christmas tree from the snowy woods. This year, Cora is not hitched up with the other two sled dogs in her bright red harness. She refuses to stay home, and follows the family into the forest. At first Cora gets underfoot; the family doesn’t understand what she is trying to do. But when the tree is selected, chopped down, and tied to the sled, Cora leads the other dogs—helping in spirit, if not in fact. Powell’s colorful woodcuts portray a crisp snow-filled north woods with deep blue shadows and green pines. The Yuletide setting is background dressing; the interactions of dogs and family predominate. An affectionate, unusual story. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8075-5968-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
PLB 0-06-028388-2 The Rockwells (Halloween Day, 1997, etc.) demystify a great American holiday for the preschool set. Among the mysteries revealed are why turkey is always on the menu along with cranberry sauce and corn bread. In simple, straightforward language, the author relates the history of the first Thanksgiving through the eyes of a preschooler. Students in Mrs. Madoff’s class enact a play about the events surrounding the first gathering; every character recites a piece of Thanksgiving lore while describing the things for which one can be grateful. Throughout the book, the generosity and goodwill among the Pilgrims and Wampanoag is underscored, providing a stellar example of how two disparate groups achieved a mutual goal of survival. The beguiling illustrations feature doe-eyed children and include several historical “snap shots” depicting events from the time of the first Thanksgiving. An agreeable, unbiased explanation of a cherished day. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-027795-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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