Flat, stylized illustrations and a meandering yet linear plot proclaim Boyle’s background in animation (he’s the creator of Nick Jr.’s Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!). Hugo is a purple hippopotamus with a huge head and small, blocky body. Hugo, his dog, their home on a hill, the town below and its residents all have the deliberately retro charm of many contemporary cartoons. The characters (all animals) have thick, black outlines that appear to advantage on the sometimes busy compositions, which feature a mix of double-page spreads and vignettes of various sizes. The relatively subdued palette allows readers to easily follow the long, red string that propels the plot. This is essentially a one-joke book, though the long-ish text might suggest otherwise. The mysterious string that leads Hugo through the town and introduces him to a number of new friends turns out to be “a very long thread from his old underwear.” Tomorrow’s adventures are implied in the blue string that leads from Hugo’s rug to his bedroom window. Undemanding but potentially popular. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: March 23, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-375-83423-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
Captain Cookie is a gingerbread pirate, leader of a batch of buccaneer cookies baked by a boy named Jim and his mom. On Christmas Eve, a plate of the gingerbread pirates is left out for Santa, and Captain Cookie tries to save his men before they are eaten. When Santa arrives, he promises not to eat the pirates and shows them what he has left under the tree: a pirate ship. Captain Cookie and his men take over the ship, and during the night they are transformed by Christmas magic into toy pirates to complete Jim’s Christmas present. Illustrator Tavares handles this transformation subtly, and children will enjoy marking the switch from cookie to toy. An extra-large format makes this a fine choice for reading aloud to a group. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3223-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Tipping her hat to the old riddle theme “black and white and red all over,” Paul supplies an action-packed story that founders in visual chaos. The simple, exciting plot has a black-and-white–clad robber busting out of jail and causing merry bedlam. Desolate about his prison food and mooning over a snapshot that readers can’t see, he tunnels out of the big house and races—ball and chain no hindrance, apparently—through a soccer field, village and bullfighting arena, pursued by old-fashioned constables, nuns and a cupid. The action’s a free-for-all, turning everything topsy-turvy, though the convict eventually lands back in jail (with a surprise perk). The pen-and-ink–and-watercolor illustrations use a comic-book structure but suffer from mediocre representation and a lack of visual gesture, rendering plot details oddly difficult to follow, especially without textual narration (words are limited, comic-style: Thwack! Crash! Halt!). This is a forgettable young cousin of David Macaulay’s brilliant postmodern Black and White, without that classic’s depth and artistry. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-618-99184-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2009
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