This is Book 1. One is more than enough for just about anybody, but Book 2 is available for the very, very avid.
A compendium of silly, gross, or otherwise oddball dilemmas to solve.
Taking the premise of John Burningham’s storytime standby Would You Rather? (1978) and running a long, long way with it, Snider offers over 200 posers along the lines of: “Would you rather lick a stranger…or…eat a cup of spider eggs?” Though some of the decision-making might actually be pragmatic (“Would you rather play a crazy prank on your MOM…or…play a crazy prank on your DAD?”), the author mostly goes for the “Eeeeew!” response. Low-rent graphics, varying little from page to unnumbered page, feature the two alternatives placed as if bursting through ruled-paper backgrounds, with occasional cutout photos of an animal or food product alongside. Arranged, if that’s the word, for random dipping, the choices come in no particular sequence or thematic progression, and repetitive scenarios are fairly common. Young browsers who find the more-directed options offered in Joan Axelrod-Contrada’s This or That Animal Debate (2013) and the many like compendia too sedate or worthy of serious consideration may be happy mulling over whether it would be preferable to “stick your hand in a clogged toilet” or “up the butt of a moose,” to “burp your ABCs” or “fart 10 times in a row.” Maybe.
This is Book 1. One is more than enough for just about anybody, but Book 2 is available for the very, very avid. (Nonfiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2102-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The engaging storyteller, who visited Iran both before and after the Islamic Revolution, gives some historical and political background in her introduction, but her focus is rightly on the people and their tales. Overall, the stories have little Islamic content, although “The Prophet Khizir” has a religious tone, and they share motifs with many stories around the world. “The Giant Okab” can be seen as a Beauty and the Beast variant, and “Miss Cockroach and Mr Mouse” is an older version of “Perez and Martina,” a Puerto Rican story that first traveled from the Middle East to Spain. Readers who have had broad exposure to folktales will have great fun comparing and contrasting the stories with those of other places; those new to folk literature will just enjoy them. Adl, who grew up in Iran, creates collages with quirky characters, a naïve folk quality and a modern artistic sensibility. General sources of stories from Persia (Iran’s prior name) are listed. A wonderful blend of traditional stories and original art that reflects the customs of this country. (Folktales. 7-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84507-912-3
Page Count: 62
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
This ageless trickster tale has a nicely subversive message, but this rendition lacks the panache to carry it off.
A wooden retelling of Perrault’s classic tale, with underwhelming movable parts.
Gurney embellishes the original plotline only by furnishing the Ogre with a back story (provided in a very small pasted-in booklet) and bestowing names on the kingdom and most of the characters. Her prose stumbles (“Puss pondered over [sic] the problem of Peter’s livelihood”), and her dialogue runs to stilted lines like, “We have seen your idea of work, Peter—it is to sit around all day playing your harmonica and idling.” Illustrator Kelley does his best to add plenty of visual panache, crafting painted scenes featuring a swashbuckling ginger puss plainly akin to the scene stealer from Shrek and cleverly manipulating a Disney-esque human cast. Such movable additions as a turn-able water wheel, a pull tab that makes Puss lick his chops after devouring the ogre and even a culminating pop-up wedding tableau are, at best, routine, and they often feel like afterthoughts, enhancing neither the art nor the story.
This ageless trickster tale has a nicely subversive message, but this rendition lacks the panache to carry it off. (Pop-up fairy tale. 8-10)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7641-6485-9
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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