A small boy selects an unlikely bedmate in this quirky tale from the author of the popular Davy Rabbit series (Happy Birthday, Davy!, 2000, etc.). As young Ben reluctantly trudges off to bed, his mother attempts to cheer him up by suggesting various stuffed companions with which he can sleep. Weninger’s wry humor surfaces in the ensuing dialogue between mother and son. Ben’s mother eagerly offers the softest, sweetest stuffed animals; yet a cozy teddy bear, a faithful stuffed pup, and a comical clown don’t make the grade. When Ben ultimately makes his selection—a fearsomely constructed stuffed toy—his mother is appalled. However, Ben’s response is keenly astute: “I know . . . He is very terrible and strong and mean. And that’s why I want him.” Weninger’s tale reveals that stout pragmatism of young children, which often leaves adults mystified. Readers will appreciate Ben’s reasoning: after all, what better to chase away the night frights than a creature that’s scarier than a young child’s rampant imaginings. Marks’s full-page watercolors are marvelously expressive. From Ben’s forlorn face to the hopeful stances of the rejected toys, his imaginative paintings draw readers into Ben’s world. One note of caution: the illustrations of Ben’s toy of choice elevates this tale from preschool appropriateness to young grade-schoolers; while little ones may take fright at the fierce ghoulishness of the toy, older, savvier ones will appreciate it’s macabre effectiveness. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7358-1602-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2002
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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