by Bette Killion & illustrated by LInda Bronson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2001
Stylized art captures the life and seasons of a young teddy-bear-toting girl. When Mom wants her to walk quickly, she thinks of fast things and she is quick. When Mom—“or some other poke-along person”—wants her to walk slowly, she thinks of things that are slow: “trailing strings, elephants strolling.” Finally, the “tip-toe” person invokes quiet “and I’m sleepy.” While intended for younger listeners, older preschoolers can use their imaginations much like the little girl, drawing parallels with the simple actions she is asked to perform. Placement of people and objects make the viewer’s eye sweep the page from left to right, training young eyes for reading. Flowing movement of falling leaves, apple trees, and groups of bees point toward the serene little girl and mirror her thoughts. Though one never completely sees mother, her presence is strongly felt as a comforting tie to family and universe. Useful as the last book read at a storytime or at bedtime as the little girl’s fulfilling day comes to an end on a winter night. (Picture book. 3-4)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-694-01315-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2001
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by Bette Killion ; illustrated by Beatriz Vidal
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by Bette Killion ; illustrated by Kim Jacobs
by Helen Foster James & illustrated by Jeannie Brett & Michael Glenn Monroe & Helle Urban ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2011
More a sure-fire flop than a patriotic primer.
It's unlikely little ones will garner much appreciation for the U.S. of A. from these trivial riddles.
Rhymes cover a gamut of iconic (and not-so-iconic) images associated with the United States of America. The design is developmentally unfortunate for the audience, with a riddle on the right-hand page of each spread. Each page turn reveals the answer and begins the set-up for the next example, creating a disconnect between riddle and image. Although visual clues indicate a riddle's answer—an eagle's wings appear around the box of text that contains the verse, for instance—it doesn't work for a board-book audience. Clichés abound (apple pie, cowboy), while a tour of landmarks provides only a superficial overview. Phony enthusiasm is the order of the day. “Its pretty flowers / smell so sweet / this thorny flower / can't be beat.” (And since when has the rose been a symbol of the United States?) The necessary superficiality results in an experience almost devoid of meaning; the focus on the White House, for example, skips any mention of the country's Commander in Chief. “In Washington, D.C. / you're sure to see / this special house / and a cherry tree!”
More a sure-fire flop than a patriotic primer. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: July 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-179-3
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2011
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by Helen Foster James ; illustrated by Petra Brown
BOOK REVIEW
by Helen Foster James ; illustrated by Petra Brown
BOOK REVIEW
by Helen Foster James ; illustrated by Petra Brown
illustrated by Jim Woodrun & by Sid Fleischman ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1981
Two one-dimensional detection cases of the sort that seem to be proliferating. These feature the Bloodhound Gang of TV's 3-2-1 Contact. In The Case of the Cackling Ghost, Professor Bloodhound's three young employees—ages 10, 15, and 16—are summoned to a large country house, where an old woman is bothered by nightly visits from a ghost. The ghost, the trio soon discovers, is really clumps of moths attracted by pheromones—an illusion cooked up by the woman's debt-ridden nephew who hopes to frighten her into turning over her precious, but reputedly curse-ridden necklace. In . . . Princess Tomrorow, the gang is called as witnesses for a shady couple who pretend to predict horse-race results—but the corroborating letter received by the agency has actually been mailed after the race. The one they witnessed being mailed before the race has been invalidated by a wet but deliberately glueless postage stamp. They're both clever tricks, but of a sort that usually come five or ten to a volume. There's no attempt to flesh out the puzzles, and not a trace of the Fleischman wit and vigor.
Pub Date: April 1, 1981
ISBN: 0394946731
Page Count: 63
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1981
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