Chicken is the name Jimmie Little gave himself because of the fears he developed the summer after his father was killed in a mine accident, but readers will find Jimmie is only sensible, as compared with his mother's beloved, less cautious brother Pete. For here it's not his father's but his uncle's death that is bothering Jimmie, Pete the clown having insisted on walking across a thinly iced-over fiver because of a bet in a bar. Jimmie is in the crowd watching when it happens, and though he runs to the water's edge shouting for Pete to come back, his mother's first reaction is to blame him for not making Pete stop. To make things worse, Jimmie's subsequent brooding ("Did I do enough?") offends his insensitive friend Conrad, and the two boys fight. When his mother suddenly recovers and decides to throw a family party—a sort of celebration of Pete—Jimmie is unable to join in the merriment until, drifting outside and viewing them through the picture window, he sees the fun-loving family as his mother does, unique individuals to cherish. It's a stance Byars has taken all along, cherishing the quirky traits that would be just as easy to scorn. Nevertheless, this crucial final revelation hasn't half the conviction, say, of Jimmie's earlier realization that he doesn't like Conrad. And Byars never really reconciles Pete's tragic childishness with such amusing family foibles as his mother's inept driving and her outspoken 92-year-old uncle's crotchets. Still, Jimmie's feelings throughout are represented in depth, and revealed in flashes of insight that hit the mark; and the story hums with the currents that flow between him and the others.
Pub Date: March 1, 1979
ISBN: 0064402916
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1979
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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