A classic scenario—stage-struck but paralyzingly shy, little Liza Shetland (a sheep) rises to an emergency, saves the show, and becomes a star—is presented with unusual wit and panache. From the beginning, Liza's dreams of glory are amusingly at odds with her stage fright; she can't bring herself to tell Dad what she wants for breakfast, let alone try out for the big part of ``Amelia Ewehart'' at school. Still, she learns the lines while working backstage, and when Cashmere, so cool at tryouts, suddenly freezes with a terror surpassing Liza's own, she's ready. Levine's text, brisk and funny, has an undercurrent of sympathy that recalls Kevin Henkes's books. Lanfredi's humans-as- sheep are delightfully caricatured in vigorous line and sunny colors; the kids waiting to audition, a distraught teacher, and an audience of expectant parents are a hoot. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-8037-1194-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Score one for cleanliness. Like (almost) all Munsch, funny as it stands but even better read aloud, with lots of exaggerated...
The master of the manic patterned tale offers a newly buffed version of his first published book, with appropriately gloppy new illustrations.
Like the previous four iterations (orig. 1979; revised 2004, 2006, 2009), the plot remains intact through minor changes in wording: Each time young Jule Ann ventures outside in clean clothes, a nefarious mud puddle leaps out of a tree or off the roof to get her “completely all over muddy” and necessitate a vigorous parental scrubbing. Petricic gives the amorphous mud monster a particularly tarry look and texture in his scribbly, high-energy cartoon scenes. It's a formidable opponent, but the two bars of smelly soap that the resourceful child at last chucks at her attacker splatter it over the page and send it sputtering into permanent retreat.
Score one for cleanliness. Like (almost) all Munsch, funny as it stands but even better read aloud, with lots of exaggerated sound effects. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55451-427-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In a winning celebration of the many loving circles of relationships in an extended family, newcomer Zamorano and veteran Vivas have collaborated on a snapshot of two weeks in the lives of a large Spanish clan. Antonio, the narrator, is the smallest, and ``Mam† is the biggest. She is going to have a baby any day now.'' Every day at two o'clock, the family gathers at the big wooden table in the kitchen for a meal: ``When we are all at the table Mam† is happy.'' On Monday, one of the seven chairs is empty because Pap† must work. ``Ay, quÇ pena,'' sighs their mother. ``What a pity.'' A different person is absent each subsequent day. On Saturday, the missing person is Mam†, who has gone to the hospital to have a baby girl. It is Antonio's turn to sigh at the empty chair: ``Ay, quÇ pena!'' Two weeks later they're all together again, and Mam† sighs, ``QuÇ maravilla! How wonderful that everyone is eating together!'' Set in the author's native Spain, there is an effortless use of Spanish words and phrases (a glossary is included) throughout this enveloping and big-hearted book. Vivas's handsome, stylized watercolors make use of rounded forms- -bowls, table, Mama's belly, and, finally, the small head of Rosa, the new baby—to convey the warmth of the family circle. QuÇ maravilla, indeed. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-590-13444-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1997
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