Fagan resurrects the late Mordecai Richler’s most famous character for a new adventure released to accompany freshly illustrated editions of the three original episodes. Still “two plus two plus two years old,” the chronic worrier sets out with his family from England to Canada aboard the SS Spring-a-Leak but soon finds himself kidnapped by a crew of not-exactly-fearsome singing pirates. Well supplied with comical sketches from Petricic, plus a supporting cast that includes a parrot given to screeching “Kiss my feathered butt!” and like disrespectful sentiments, a hulking but kindly ex-wrestler who once defeated the Hooded Fang himself and a narcissistic Captain who turns out to be the Canadian Prime Minister’s long-lost brother, the episode fits into the series nicely in both breathless pacing and Roald Dahl–style zaniness. Closing with a big birthday party and Jacob’s expressed wish for a pet, it also fits nicely between the events of Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1975) and Jacob Two-Two and the Dinosaur (1987). Not too-too bad. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-88776-895-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Four tender reminiscences feature Mimmy and her younger sister, Sophie, growing up in Depression-era Brooklyn. Trolleys, brownstones, storefronts, and front stoops provide the urban theater for heartfelt snippets of everyday mini-dramas: melted popsicles, a visit to Gramma and Grampa’s, sibling squabbles, and an afternoon outing to the Brooklyn Bridge. Storyboard panels in somber colors depict the old-fashioned stories with innocence and simplicity; the understated, wholesome adventures don’t rely on fast-paced action or antics, but small, rounded conclusions that have the veracity of real life. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 25, 1999
ISBN: 0-374-34988-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
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
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