Language chosen for its sound at least as much as for its meaning lends an improvisatory air to this rendition of Prokofiev’s musical tale, and theatrical illustrations definitely kick things up an additional notch. Having introduced themselves, the bird and the duck fall into an argument—“And the bird answers back: D-ducky d-dacky d-docky d-deeky. / And the duck answers back: Waieo, waieo, waieo, waieo”—before the cat and the wolf enter, Peter lassos the wolf and the hunters (“We are the men, / We are the men, / We are the men who hunt…”) arrive to carry the captive off in triumph. For the art, Raschka alternates stylized pictures of the characters drawn in thick crayon and daubs of color with photos of elaborately decorated, ingeniously designed stage sets constructed from layers of cut and painted paper. He does make changes to the original’s cast and plot in order to make the happy ending more explicit, but he’s far from the first to do that. Among the plethora of Peters, his stands out for its seamless, jazzy match of verbal and visual exuberance. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-689-85652-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Richard Jackson/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2008
PLB 0-7358-1070-2 A very minimal imaginative effort starring Little Bunny, identified as an only child (although there are no parents commented upon or seen) who is feeling a bit lonely as he tries to go to sleep. He hops off to Squirrel’s house; Squirrel readily invites him in, but proves to be a midnight snacker who makes too much noise with his acorns. Little Bunny tries Skunk’s house, but there is a minor accident of the aromatic kind, so Little Bunny moves on. At Porcupine’s a few errant quills send him packing; at Bear’s, the snoring can be registered on the Richter scale; at Owl’s, lights burn into the night as Owl feeds his keen intelligence. Owl’s words of wisdom: “Just go back home where you belong.” Little Bunny does, and falls asleep. Readers probably already know that there is no place like home, but the other messages—that friends are a bother, that it’s better to be lonely, that individual quirks cannot be accommodated—will be new. Gorbachev’s illustrations are great, colorful scene-setting tableaux, owing more than a nod to Richard Scarry. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7358-1069-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As she lovingly details the comfortable disarray of a perfectly splendid staircase, a small mouse counts off the stairs in a game she has clearly played many times. The rhyme skips and leaps from “First step. Rain step,” because that’s where her puddle boots are, to the third step, where the window seat is, to the sixth, where she can peer into her own bedroom, to the eleventh where the night light lives, and the twelfth where she can go back down and start again. She’s accompanied by her little sister and readers catch a glimpse at the end of a mother, father, and baby, too. The details are whimsical, and the rhyme infectious. A real treat, perfectly centered on a small child’s perceptions and experience. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-886910-34-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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