In this urbane New York City tale, a small dog’s horizons expand when an impulsive hop into a taxi opens up a world of tempting new prospects. Leaving his comfortable Riverside Drive routine behind, Albert finds himself transported all over town, greeting doggy friends as he passes from cab to cab, receiving offers from various riders headed for destinations as far apart as California and the Kalahari. Zarin tells the tale in an offhand, tongue-in-cheek tone—“Bark, woof, aargh!” goes the dialogue during a canine melee—that nicely complements Pratt’s views of city streets, long, low-slung yellow cabs and a likewise low-slung dachshund on the move. Albert ends up at the airport, where he runs into one of his startled owners returning from a trip—but the sight of jet liners taking off for parts unknown stays with him on the ride back home. Albert may ride the same streets as the Barraccas’ Taxi Dog, but by the close it’s plain that his traveling’s only just begun. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-689-84762-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In this Easy-to-Read entry is a dog large enough to chase Clifford the big red dog right out of town. Tiny is a dog who is the exact opposite of what his name implies. When he gets dirty, his owner—a small boy—has to search to find a receptacle big enough to scrub him down. A pail, the sink, and even the bathtub are dwarfed by the presence of this giant hound; only the little boy’s wading pool will do. The child gets Tiny washed, only to be dirtied himself when his pooch discovers a new mud puddle to play in. Both boy and dog come clean in the end. Davis’s playful illustrations romp alongside the beginning reader text, using an easy, loping giganticism to portray this big pet’s appeal. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-87962-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
4-8)
A blustering, self-infatuated lion takes his lumps and gains a crack at redemption in Yaccarino's (An Octopus Followed
Me Home, 1997, etc.) latest offering. The Lord of the Jungle is busy lording over it all: the monkeys fan him, the elephants provide shade, the leopards fetch his food, and the gorillas tend to his mane—or else he will eat them. Of course, as Yaccarino dryly summarizes, "The animals couldn't stand him one bit." One day a man is spied strolling through the jungle. The lion attacks, but is disarmed when the fellow says he can make him a big star. The lion obviously doesn't recognize the plaid jacket and shades as the mark of a shyster, because in no time at all, the lion is being exploited and demeaned as a circus act. Until, that is, he eats the man and makes his getaway. Back to the jungle he hurries, fully intending to take up his place of honor, but instead finds the other animals being locked into cages for shipment. The animals are not keen on the lion's reappearance (their words sting the lion), but they are unwitting about the future and what the cages represent. It falls upon our hero to work the oldest circus trick in the book, liberate the animals, and then rein in his arrogance. (They don't call it a "pride" of lions for nothing.) The droll story comes with a toothsome accompaniment of Yaccarino's retro art, with its edge of goofiness and deep-dish color. (Picture book.
4-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-82235-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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