A daring but not wholly successful book from the innovative creator of Yo! Yes? (1993/Caldecott Honor). Imagining a friendly (though unpersonified) iceberg gives Elizabeth self-confidence, which is exactly what she needs when a huge, overfriendly stranger accosts her (``What a charming, pretty girl do I see. Come tell me your name. Tell it quickly!''). Indeed, ``something [is] not right,'' and when the woman chatters on about how they'll ``fizz with the insects...trot with the armadillos'' and scoops Elizabeth up in a frightening parody of Vera Williams's ``More, More, More,'' Said the Baby, the child imagines what her iceberg would do, says ``Get away from me!'' and escapes on her bicycle. The expressively simple art and spritely, surreal tone do not at all disguise the earnest message here; unfortunately, in real life it may not be so easy to thwart so hefty and determined a molester. Still, these characters are distilled to a symbolic essence; by touching on children's secret fears, the dreamlike representation may help open them to discussion. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-531-06817-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1994
A traditional cumulative tale, which Aylesworth (My Sister's Rusty Bike, 1996, etc.) endows with a lively pace, is illustrated in a decidedly old-fashioned style, giving the book the look and feel of a reproduction of an old edition. Working with precise pen-and-ink, McClintock portrays the cozy home of an elderly couple, dressed in Victoriana and in possession of a great wood-burning stove. Her work has never been more animated than in the scenes of the two-dimensional gingerbread man running away, exuberantly eluding everyone elsethe couple, a butcher, and a cow and pig dressed in human clothesuntil he is devoured by a fox. The portrayals of a cow and pig are more bizarre than charming, and the too-obvious wrinkles on the elderly people's faces are one example of eccentric choices on the part of the illustrator.With Richard Egielski's The Gingerbread Boy (1997) hot off the press and other fine variations of the tale still in print, it's hard to make the case for this one, other than to appreciate its antique look. (Picture book/folklore. 4-6)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-590-97219-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The scenario is absolutely authentic: Jamaica is embarrassed by her hand-me-down boys' boots and jealous of Brianna's pretty pink ones; when Jamaica's wear out, she chooses cowboy boots so Brianna won't say she copied—only to have Brianna tell her that they ``aren't in''; hurt, she declares Brianna's ``ugly.'' All comes right when the two finally level: Brianna's boots are also hand-me-downs, and she can't wait to grow so she can replace them. Yes, the story's about boots—as important an arena for choice and identity for small children as for their elders—but it's also, in Havill's simple, beautifully honed text, about friendship. O'Brien's warm, realistic illustrations of this vibrant African-American and her lively Asian-American friend are just right. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-395-64489-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1993
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