Alfie's grandfather is becoming senile, his sympathetic older sister is usually working, and his immature, TV-watching mother is chiefly a nuisance to be avoided. But Alfie has his attic room, where he draws and hangs up the cartoons—Super Bird, Super Caterpillar, Super Ring-that constantly occupy his mind and inspire his dreams of future fame. Then Bubba, Alfie's married older brother and his mother's obvious favorite, loses his job on the gas pump and Mom, delighted, plans to fix up the attic room for him and the pregnant Maureen. The others are shocked—no one but Mom ever cared for the no-good Bubba; but she insists. (Only he can "make her laugh.") And so Alfie takes to the attic, securing the trap door and refusing to answer even the call of his friend Tree—until, after 24 hours, a furious Mom reports that Bubba and wife are moving in with her parents, who offer better accommodations. "You've won," she calls to Alfie, but he knows it isn't so—still, on the ladder coming down, he surprises himself by thinking up a cartoon based on the experience. There are a few thin spots-Alfie's mother is so thoroughly banal a person that she's blank as a character; but overall there is clarity and humor in Byars' projection of a household that any kid would need to get away from. And through it all shines Alfie's devotion to cartooning—an escape, a compensation, even a symptom, that clearly emerges as a strength.
Pub Date: April 3, 1978
ISBN: 0435123858
Page Count: 123
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1978
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
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
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