Like The Giving Tree but without the self-sacrifice, this simple tale of a stone bunny that serves as surrogate friend to a hideous, lonely monster offers both an affecting parable and a chewy metaphor. So ugly is the cave-dwelling creature that animals flee, plants die, and weather turns bad at his appearance. When he smiles, rocks shatter—except, to his delight, a small rabbit that he’s just carved, which is unaffected and so becomes a lifelong companion. After the monster’s death, he is forgotten, but the rabbit remains, as the devastation around the cave gradually becomes a natural beauty spot. Despite a warning, the trollish monster’s full-page, full-face onset may startle younger readers; in subsequent scenes, however, his lonesome, benign inner nature comes through clearly enough that he ultimately becomes more pathetic than frightening. So is this a rebuke to those who judge by appearances? An observation on the immediate and enduring pleasures of art? A sympathetic character portrait? Wormell suggests no explicit moral or intention, so the episode is bound to have different meanings (or none) to different readers. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2004
ISBN: 0-375-82891-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Afraid that her mother—who is starting a new job tomorrow- -will forget about her, Nikki grills her: ``What's my favorite trick?'' ``Who's my favorite friend?'' ``What's my favorite dance?'' Patiently, Mama responds to every question; but next evening she comes home tired and distracted. Deciding that she was right to worry, Nikki sulks until bedtime, when she and Mama exchange apologies. This low-key but deeply felt episode has an obvious situational use, but also shows respectful and believable give and take, on both emotional and intellectual levels, between parent and preschooler. Kastner's paintings place this black family (Nikki has shadowy older sibs) in a neat, spacious middle- class interior with bookcases and a piano but a minimum of other detail; dominated by soft purples and tans that effectively reinforce the mood, the background's simplicity gently focuses attention on the warm relationship. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-8037-1127-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1992
A nonsense rhyme celebrates a joyous older neighbor. Every morning, Leonora steps outside to water bulging bags of ``Popcorn from Paraguay/Snakeskins from Spain/A buffalo's toothbrush/A tube full of rain'' and other found materials; at night she dances in the city park across the street (``She's the moon shadow's daughter/The old statue's wife./And together they tango...'') until—on some summer nights—she falls asleep on a park bench. In Cornell's exuberant art, energetic dots and dashes define tumbled shapes in splashes of color as, trailed by the admiring young narrator, gray-haired Leonora grins cheerfully at the world and pushes a shopping cart exploding with tangles of bric-a-brac. A childlike tribute with no hint of the darker side connoted by Leonora's free-spiritedness. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 30, 1992
ISBN: 0-06-021766-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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