Pure corn syrup.
A child with ostracism issues finds a timber tutor in this illustrated spinoff from the Land of Stories series.
Waking from his afternoon nap to find a lass weeping on an adjacent stump, the Curvy Tree enquires as to the cause of her distress. She whinges: “I’m never going to find a friend,” because the village’s mean other children “say that I talk funny, I’m not pretty, and I’m not smart.” In response, the tree informs her that his twisted limbs saved him from loggers years ago, and then he lifts her up to see more curvy trees all around, each with a child in its branches. You’ll find friends aplenty, he assures her, when you grow up and leave town—or, as he puts it, “look past the horizon.” The narrative is not only trite, but contradictory, as the child sees the tree on one page and on the next “didn’t even notice it.” Dorman endows the golden-brown Curvy Tree with kindly features, dominated by a ski-shaped nose, that slide freely up and down the trunk. Though an evergreen in the Land of Stories novels, here it looks much more like a hazel, with sparse foliage and corkscrew boughs. The child displays no such signs of physical unattractiveness; on the contrary, her cute, gigantic spectacles and woolly blonde mane make the “not pretty” business sound more like peer envy than teasing.
Pure corn syrup. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-316-40685-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PLB 0-688-16327-0 Terra’s mother is an astronaut, but as she kisses her daughter farewell before firing up her rockets, she promises to return that evening in time for Terra’s school show, “Earthdance.” Terra practices all day, and in the evening, in a green and blue leotard and toe shoes, she dances the part of Earth, with classmates dancing the roles of sun, the planets, and the seasons. The mother, true to her promise, arrives in time for the finale, with a picture of earth from her travels. The illustrations tell the stories of the mother’s travels through space and Terra’s show simultaneously, with adapted photographs from NASA opposite scenes of the children performing. It’s a lyrical introduction to the solar system and a charming futuristic family story, although science is occasionally sacrificed to poetry, e.g., Earth is not “in the middle of the Milky Way,” and it does not “turn the moon.” Reiser (Cherry Pies and Lullabies, 1998, etc.) concludes with thumbnail-sized photographs she worked with; her lovely perspective on the universe and its mysteries is easy to embrace. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16326-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
Fans tend to love things just the way they are, making this attempt to extend the brand down of questionable wisdom.
Judy Moody for new readers is a miss.
The original Judy Moody’s target audience is new chapter-book readers, and there, she is a queen. In a new format aimed at newly independent readers, Judy is back with familiar characters: the titular Rocky Zang and, in a simultaneously publishing companion, Jessica Finch (Jessica Finch in Pig Trouble; 978-0-7636-7027-6). Both stories follow a similar plot trajectory—the main characters have a big idea (fledgling magician Rocky wants to work with Judy as his assistant, and pig-crazy Jessica wants a pot-bellied pig for her birthday) that falls flat when misunderstandings among Judy and her pals get in the way. Here, Rocky perfects a hidden-dollar trick that makes Judy mad. The back-cover copy assigns this book to ages 4-6, which is quite a stretch, especially in the occasional spreads in which text fills an entire page. The vocabulary can be a challenge, likely to frustrate the just-beginning reader. On just one page, readers must tackle assistant, clenched, amazing, Supersonic and Switcheroo, words that gear the title to a slightly more experienced audience. Fans will also be disappointed by the new illustrations. Gone are Peter Reynolds’ deft, humorous lines, and here is Judy looking very different in brilliant full color.
Fans tend to love things just the way they are, making this attempt to extend the brand down of questionable wisdom. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5716-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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