Mr. McGreely builds a veritable gulag around his garden to keep the rabbits out—before he learns he can’t, so he might as well join them. Come spring and Mr. McGreely decides to make real a long-standing dream: a garden full of lettuce and carrots and peas, the foods he so loves. And, of course, a favorite dietary component of the three rabbits who avidly watch Mr. McGreely plant his patch. When the first sprouts push their heads above the soil, the rabbits shuffle down and sample a few. “Tipppy, Tippy– Tippy– Pat! Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!” Mr. McGreely is furious. So he builds a little wire fence, but it is no more a deterrent to the rabbits than a stiff breeze. He throws up a higher wooden fence that is thwarted by digging, and the moat he subsequently builds is simply swum through. Finally he erects what resembles a super-maximum-security prison—concertina wire, spotlights, 20-foot cement walls: “ ‘I’ve outsmarted those twitch-whiskers for sure,’ he exclaimed.” Indeed, the next morning the garden is as he left it—but what’s that peeking out of the basket he has brought in to hold his harvest. Mr. McGreely grabs a carrot and takes a seat among them. Fleming makes it feel as though everyone has won in this contest, and her use of language and onomatopoetic effect is a singular delight. Equally charming are Karas’s gouache, acrylic, and pencil illustrations, which are droll and wistful, the artist at his witty best. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-689-83152-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2001
The pug staring up mournfully from the cover looks and is anything but unlovable, as Yaccarino (New Pet, p. 1304, etc.) demonstrates in this unvarnished friendship story. The cat and other household pets—and the other dogs in the neighborhood—all sneer at Alfred’s ugly mug and stubby legs. Except for Rex, a very new neighbor unseen on the other side of a high, solid fence. But Alfred has told him that he’s a golden retriever, which results in some anxious moments when Alex announces that he’s digging under the fence. Yaccarino keeps the pictures as simple as the story, using bright colors and large, smoothly curved shapes, incorporating minimal background detail and exaggerating certain features, notably Alfred’s huge, shiny button eyes. As it turns out, Rex’s eyes make a matching pair, for he too is a pug, and easily forgives Alfred his fib—and with warm companionship, he ensures that “Alfred never felt unlovable again.” A cozy, if routine, confidence-builder. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8050-6321-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A masterful consideration of perception, exploration, and, ultimately, love.
Seeming simplicity yields rich rewards in this sensory-steeped tale of adventure and friendship.
Color-sapped outlines of a wilderness kick off this tale of a dog and cat traveling together. “Two together headed home. / Cat and dog. / Bell and Bone. / For a moment. For a day. // Two together on their way.” After they peek at their reflections in the water, different artistic styles are used in the following pages to depict each animal; the dog is rendered in curved acrylics, the cat in spiky colored pencil. Sometimes the very page splits in two, one side portraying the dog’s perceptions and the other the cat’s. After a toad waylays them, they encounter a bear, a cave, and a rainstorm. As night falls, the colors grow deep and sumptuous, and home appears like a beacon. Inside, the two are now more rendered more realistically and in more detail than ever before. That is, until they go out again to prowl the night. Featuring the singsong nature of some of the best nursery rhymes, the tale reads with an effortless lilting quality, gently rhyming. Yet it’s the art that’s the showstopper here, and one wonders if the two are crispest in the home because we’re seeing them the way their human owner does. What is unquestionable is the friends’ affection for each other, the pair sticking side by side through thick and thin.
A masterful consideration of perception, exploration, and, ultimately, love. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9781797202778
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
