PLB 0-7868-2399-2 Miss Perkins goes out in the snow to get her mail and brings back a stray cat. Naming it Fitz, because that is the sound it made when it sneezed, Miss Perkins tries not to get too attached to the stray, and runs an ad that reads: “Wanted: Good home for fluffy cat named Fitz.” Fitz, however, does not want to be adopted by anyone other than Miss Perkins, so he mysteriously disappears whenever someone answers the ad. Fitz finds his way into Miss Perkins’s heart by jumping up on her lap and licking the tip of her nose, sleeping at the foot of her bed to keep her feet warm, and finally chasing a mouse out of her home. With that final act, Miss Perkins finds Fitz to be a perfectly remarkable cat. Bright and finely detailed illustrations show clearly why the cat would not leave; the elderly woman’s home is as snug as they come in the detailed illustrations. Children will love this simple story of a love match forged by destiny, and aided by the occasional well-timed disappearance. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7868-0457-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gliori (Mr. Bear Babysits, etc.) offers a version of the adage that it takes a village to raise a child, when Mr. and Mrs. Bear get help from a community of loving friends in soothing their fretful newborn. When the serenity of the nighttime forest is shattered by the incessant wailing of Mr. Bear’s newest child, the woodland animals offer the bleary parents suggestions on how they put their own offspring to sleep. With ingenious and amusing results, Gliori devises forest-appropriate baby furniture, from Mr. Bun’s lettuce and carrot cradle to Mrs. Buzz’s honey-filled hive. Alas, none of these remedies works and soon the friends drift back to their own homes. Only Small Bear can enlighten her parents as to what the baby needs—a warm snuggle in bed with the family. The endearing illustrations are brimming with humorous details. The bedroom of Mr. and Mrs. Bear looks as if a small whirlwind hit it—it is strewn with tiny clothes, small toys, the ubiquitous pile of baby care manuals, ointment, and more—deftly conveying the way one very small and helpless creature can reorient a family’s entire universe. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30152-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
With a curmudgeonly rat as his reluctant tour guide, a boy explores a pet store in which all the denizens are for sale. Exotic animals abound; the selection includes a giant tortoise, pelican, platypus, skink, koala bear, and even an anteater. While the boy shops, the little rat desperately tries to convince him that he is the best bargain. “ ‘Who wants a koala that doesn’t like leaves?’ said the rat. ‘Or an anteater that won’t eat its ant? I’m not fussy! I’ll eat . . . ANYTHING!’ “ A portion of the page is missing, as if chomped by the overeager rodent. Inkpen adroitly introduces numerals 1—10; every animal is priced consecutively from 1õ for the rat up to 10õ for an entire bag of “assorted little brown creatures,” with the ultimate bargain a Komodo dragon for 25õ. Readers gain a last lesson in addition as they learn that the entire contents of the store can be had for $1.00—precisely the amount in the boy’s pocket. Colorful, detailed illustrations depict the creatures with realism. Humor, well-placed lift-up flaps and the antics of the rat conspire to make this thoroughly likable. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30130-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
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