Bottner (Marsha Is Only a Flower, 2000, etc.) continues her series about rivalrous redheaded sisters Marsha and Lulu, this time with a co-author. It’s big sister Lulu’s eighth birthday, and she wants more attention from her parents—all the attention. In fact, the petulant and pretentious Lulu wants a big birthday party with clowns, a puppet show, a magician, acrobats, and a TV appearance as well, just to be sure everyone in town knows it’s her birthday. Instead, she gets a trip to the zoo with two friends (and little sister Marsha), where she gets to see a gorilla that shares her date of birth. Samoo the gorilla copies Lulu’s movements (and ignores those of the other children), leading Lulu to conclude that the gorilla loves her (and not Marsha). Brunkus adds some humor to the story with her wild-haired redheads, but Marsha’s age seems to vary from one illustration to another. Lulu is not very likable (she could probably use some counseling), although the third book in a series implies a ready readership. (Easy reader. 7-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-307-26333-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Golden Books/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2001
Dreamers and doers both will find inspiration here.
Urging readers to understand that “What you do, / Where you go, / Who you grow / Up to be / Depends on / The steps you take,” these poems profile children trying on shoes for the future.
Tap shoes for Marc; cleats for Clarice; hiking boots; toe shoes; a nurse’s shoes like Dad’s for Kyle; sturdy work boots, and more, always making certain to avoid gender stereotypes. Grimes weaves subtle messages of power through her bright, breezy language—“Still, his boots / Hold him steady / Once he’s ready / To fix / The world.” Or, in the case of African-American “Talisha’s Toe Shoes”: “Someday I’ll dance / The Nutcracker / (My dream too long deferred). / My arabesque / Will be so fine / They’ll redefine the word.” The sunny tone is matched in Widener’s acrylics with round-headed, rubber-limbed children of all ethnicities wearing oversized footgear, exuberantly dancing, skiing, skating, swimming, or (it’s not all about choosing a career) playing.
Dreamers and doers both will find inspiration here. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-531-30286-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
A misleading title is the only stumble in this orotund, beguilingly illustrated original tale, a children’s-book debut for Holland. In a vain effort to stop the newly created animals from quarrelling, an angel gives them all different sorts of crowns. Horrified by her knobby new headgear, proud Reindeer flees to the barren North to hide. A thousand generations later, only the reindeer are willing to help Santa haul his toy-laden sleigh—though in saving it from falling through a patch of thin ice, they shatter antlers, leaving only broken stubs. Santa offers them golden crowns, but in the end he bestows an even more glorious gift: one night each year they fly, and so “draw the Christmas sleigh not over snowdrifts and frozen lakes, but out across the night sky among the tinsel stars.” Santa, the reindeer, the other animals, even the trees and rocks have a velvety look in Holland’s framed, barrel-shaped paintings; the reindeer in particular, with their sheep-like faces and velvety racks, look almost huggable. A splendid holiday tale, at once grand and appealing—but not so much about how the reindeer were given their antlers, as how they came to be so proud of them. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2000
ISBN: 0-8234-1562-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
