A winsome blend of whimsical subjects and beguiling verse, sure to hook young minds.
The sorrows and consolations of childhood—strict moms, dull music lessons, enchanted beings, revolting cuisines—are plumbed in this collection of poetry.
Combs, a music teacher, has a nice feel for the way small things, horrid or gratifying or both, loom large in a kid’s life. There is the sad predicament, in “A Dreadful Day,” of being sick in bed: “I’m bored and tired / but Mom will say / ‘Inside all day—in bed you’ll stay / and drink the fruit juice on your tray.” There’s the “Piano Time” search for something to liven up the practice-hour ordeal: “But since I don’t know / what ‘willpower’ means / I’ll play with the frog / I hid in my jeans.” There is the tragedy of conceitedness limned in “I’m the Richest, Smartest, Prettiest Girl,” in which said paragon wonders why no one will play with her. But such travails are balanced by imaginative delights. One can commune with creatures both ordinary, such as the friendly ungulate in “Bruce the Moose,” and extraordinary, such as the lurid flying ungulate in “The Purple Gnu” or the tiny pranksters of “Shy Shuggles,” who tease spiders by spinning green webs. And there is the giggly joy in sheer grossness, explored by the identical twins in “Ollie? or Dollie?”: “So, Ollie ate slugs / Dollie ate bugs / Followed by slime juice in each other’s mugs.” Combs’s poems feature strong meters and rhyme schemes and a rich vocabulary, and are a good fit for four- to eight-year-olds; they can either be read aloud, with parents explaining unfamiliar words, or attempted alone by novice readers with the assistance of the author’s evocative drawings. (Included are a number of music-themed poems in which characters discover the thrill of playing the timpani or conducting the orchestra, learn new terms like “euphonium” and “fortissimo,” and get introduced to Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt and Sousa.)
A winsome blend of whimsical subjects and beguiling verse, sure to hook young minds.Pub Date: April 30, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-935631-03-3
Page Count: 154
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A festive invitation to creative liberation.
A pleasingly tactile exploration of the possibilities inherent in mistakes.
"A torn piece of paper... / is just the beginning!" Spills, folded paper, drips of paint, smudges and smears—they "all can make magic appear." An increasingly complex series of scenarios celebrates random accidents, encouraging artistic experimentation rather than discouragement. The folded-over paper can be a penguin's head; a torn piece of newsprint can turn into a smiling dog with a little application of paint; a hot-chocolate stain can become a bog for a frog. Thanks to a telescoping pop-up, a hole is filled with nearly limitless possibilities. The interactive elements work beautifully with the photo-collaged "mistakes," never overwhelming the intent with showiness. Saltzberg's trademark cartoon animals provide a sweetly childlike counterpoint to the artful scribbles and smears of gloppy paint.
A festive invitation to creative liberation. (Pop-up. 4-12)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7611-5728-1
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2010
This genuinely clever math book uses rhyming couplets and riddles, as well as visual cues to help the reader find new ways to group numbers for quick counting. It’s a return to number sets, with none of those boring parentheses and <>signs. Here the rhyme gives a clue to the new ways of grouping numbers. For example: “Mama mia, pizza pie, / How many mushrooms do you spy? / Please don’t count them, it’s too slow, / This hot pie was made to go! / Let me give you some advice, / Just do half and count it twice.” A quick look at the pizza, and the reader can see each slice has the same number of mushrooms. Count by threes for half the pie, and double it. Each rhyme is given a double-page spread. The extra-large, brightly colored images leap off the page but never distract from the author’s intent. Some riddles are very challenging, but the author provides all the solutions in the back. Once the reader has seen the answers, the strategy is obvious and can be applied to other situations. Great fun for math enthusiasts and creative thinkers, this might also teach adults some new tricks. A winning addition. (Nonfiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-439-21033-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
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