Certain children will read anything about horses; this book relies too heavily on that fact.
When 9-year-old Tori and her 8-year-old sister, Miranda, arrive at their grandmother's Silver Pony Ranch to spend the summer, Tori is immediately smitten with Gran’s new pony, Jewel.
Jewel, however, is livelier than Gran's other ponies, and Tori can't even manage to groom her before the pony misbehaves, let alone ride her. Miranda prefers Gran's dog's puppies to the ponies; the sisters squabble about that and about sharing a room. On the second day of their visit, Tori sneaks out to see Jewel before breakfast and accidentally turns the pony loose—she can't be caught until Gran intervenes. That afternoon, a puppy goes missing after a trail ride; sneaking out to the stables at night to look for it, Tori again leaves Jewel's stall open while braiding a fancy ribbon in her tail. Somehow, Tori's repeated misbehavior inspires Gran to allow her to ride the pony. The puppy comes home, and all ends well. The first in a series designed for chapter-book readers, the story will appeal to pony-crazy girls but appall their safety-conscious parents or anyone who really understands horse behavior. Though Tori narrates, her character seems limited to whining about Jewel.
Certain children will read anything about horses; this book relies too heavily on that fact. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-79766-5
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An effective early chapter book conveyed in a slightly overdone gag.
Epistolary dispatches from the eternal canine/feline feud.
Simon the cat is angry. He had done a good job taking care of his boy, Andy, but now that Andy’s parents are divorced, a dog named Baxter has moved into Andy’s dad’s house. Simon believes that there isn’t enough room in Andy’s life for two furry friends, so he uses the power of the pen to get Baxter to move out. Inventively for the early-chapter-book format, the story is told in letters written back and forth; Simon’s are impeccably spelled on personalized stationery while Baxter’s spelling slowly improves through the letters he scrawls on scraps of paper. A few other animals make appearances—a puffy-lipped goldfish who for some reason punctuates her letter with “Blub…blub…” seems to be the only female character (cued through stereotypical use of eyelashes and red lipstick), and a mustachioed snail ferries the mail to and fro. White-appearing Andy is seen playing with both animals as a visual background to the text, as is his friend Noah (a dark-skinned child who perhaps should not be nicknamed “N Man”). Cat lovers will appreciate Simon’s prickliness while dog aficionados will likely enjoy Baxter’s obtuse enthusiasm, and all readers will learn about the time and patience it takes to overcome conflict and jealousy with someone you dislike.
An effective early chapter book conveyed in a slightly overdone gag. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4492-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A solo debut for Wenzel showcasing both technical chops and a philosophical bent.
Wouldn’t the same housecat look very different to a dog and a mouse, a bee and a flea, a fox, a goldfish, or a skunk?
The differences are certainly vast in Wenzel’s often melodramatic scenes. Benign and strokable beneath the hand of a light-skinned child (visible only from the waist down), the brindled cat is transformed to an ugly, skinny slinker in a suspicious dog’s view. In a fox’s eyes it looks like delectably chubby prey but looms, a terrifying monster, over a cowering mouse. It seems a field of colored dots to a bee; jagged vibrations to an earthworm; a hairy thicket to a flea. “Yes,” runs the terse commentary’s refrain, “they all saw the cat.” Words in italics and in capital letters in nearly every line give said commentary a deliberate cadence and pacing: “The cat walked through the world, / with its whiskers, ears, and paws… // and the fish saw A CAT.” Along with inviting more reflective viewers to ruminate about perception and subjectivity, the cat’s perambulations offer elemental visual delights in the art’s extreme and sudden shifts in color, texture, and mood from one page or page turn to the next.
A solo debut for Wenzel showcasing both technical chops and a philosophical bent. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5013-0
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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