A bit of monster hunting, contrived of plot but predictable of outcome and too bland to be scary.
A young dinosaur lover’s dream comes true when he visits his Loch Ness grandmother.
Finlay’s gran claims to have seen the monster—even to have fed it shortbread. Trailed by a big sister sporting both earbuds and a skeptical attitude, he “spots” Nessie everywhere: in a local business’ sign; in an inflatable toy monster left at the loch’s shore; a “head” that turns out to be a research submarine’s periscope; and a long, spooky shadow from (adding a surreal note) a construction crane that rolls out of the woods. Ultimately, of course, when Finlay declares that there is no monster and angrily chucks a handful of Gran’s shortbread into the water, up rises a green monster reminiscent of what Steven Kellogg’s eponymous Mysterious Tadpole (1977) grew into. The older figures in Harris-Jones’ bright cartoon illustrations mostly just stand around in static poses and watch as Finlay goes from high excitement to drooping disappointment—but the lake and the green, rolling hills all around give the quest and encounter an idyllic setting.
A bit of monster hunting, contrived of plot but predictable of outcome and too bland to be scary. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-86315-953-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Floris
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
The premise is worn gossamer thin, and the joke stopped being funny, if it ever was, long ago.
A fairy tending their garden manages to survive a gaggle of young intruders.
In halting cadences typical of the long-running—and increasingly less amusing—How To Catch… series, the startled mite—never seen face-on in Elkerton’s candy-colored pictures and indeterminate of gender—wonders about the racially diverse interlopers: “Do they know that I can grant wishes? / Or that a new fairy is born when they giggle?” The visual action rather belies the sweetness of the verses, the palette, the bright flowers, and the multicolored resident zebras and unicorns, as after repeated, elaborately designed efforts to trap or even shoot (with a peashooter) the fairy come to naught, the laughing children are escorted out of the garden beneath a rising moon. The encounter ends on a (perhaps unconsciously) ominous note. “Hope they find their way back sometime,” the butterfly-winged narrator concludes. “And just maybe next time they’ll stay!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
The premise is worn gossamer thin, and the joke stopped being funny, if it ever was, long ago. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728263205
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Encouragement for moguls-to-be and fun for everyone else.
A young entrepreneur is ready to sell homemade lemonade, but everyone else has already staked out the best spots.
The nameless narrator rolls a colorful stand through the diverse city neighborhood and just keeps on going until reaching the countryside. Pushing it up a hill, the kid loses control, and the tall stand with the lemon on top goes careening through the woods until it finally stops near a river. Unexpectedly, a customer arrives! The kid serves up, and then a steady stream of customers float by: an octopus, two alligators, a sea monster, a diver in an old-fashioned helmet, and more. The kid needs to make more lemonade on the spot. After selling out and trudging home, the kid sleeps through the night dreaming about a future riverside lemonade empire. Careful readers will spot many reminders of the adventure in the kid’s bedroom. A toy octopus’s tentacles overflow from a chest, a diver’s helmet sits on the floor, pictures of sea animals and boats adorn the walls. The lines between reality and fantasy blur…but the tip jar is full. Bright cartoon illustrations are full of funny details (the lemonade-stand sign smiles and frowns expressively), and the alliterative text begs to be read aloud: “I sat for a long while, feeling terrible as a turnip,” the kid grumps at one point. The narrator has textured black hair and a ruddy complexion. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Encouragement for moguls-to-be and fun for everyone else. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2828-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
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