A stiff, flat, lifeless knockoff.
A neatnik cat repeatedly and fruitlessly orders dust bunnies to leave in this conspicuously uninspired domestic drama.
Endowing all of the figures in his cartoon scenes with the same inexpressive, heavy-lidded eyes and placing them in static tableaux, Cleary (Stop Bugging Me!, 2010) sets up a monotonous argument between Prickles the cat and an increasing army of mouselike smudges that are reluctant to leave the safety of the couch’s underside to venture outdoors. Ultimately they win out, with some bunnies clumping themselves into a sweater for the resident mouse and others gathering in legions to be knitted into a like garment for the homeowner, a rat (?) named Mr. Cheese. Designed and arranged in large graphic panels à la Candlewick’s Toon Books (and part of a series dubbed Balloon Toons in further direct, if unacknowledged homage), this may spark some initial interest in budding comics fans for its format, but the bored-looking characters and the general air of ennui don’t exactly add up to a memorable reading experience—particularly in comparison to the far livelier bits of fluff in Jan Thomas’ Rhyming Dust Bunnies (2009).
A stiff, flat, lifeless knockoff. (Graphic picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60905-080-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Blue Apple
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
A hamster with an irritating lack of social skills fails to alienate a cast of small woodland creatures in this strange import. Looking more like an undersized koala in Martin’s simply drawn scenes, Hamster opens with a wish that “in the heavens and on earth [a]ll will praise an extraordinary hamster,” then goes on to explain in his diary how much everyone adores him, to disinvite Rabbit to his birthday party, to blow off a shy confession from Mole and so on—until at the culminating party he takes a bow after belittling everyone’s gifts. Meanwhile, the animals gather to mull such Big Questions as whether worms can shed tears of joy. Within each of her large sequential panels, the illustrator surrounds small figures with generous quantities of flat, uniformly colored green ground and blue sky, punctuated by the occasional tree or shrub. All that wide-open space focuses attention on the dialogue, which sometimes offers insights into the character of each member of the cast but too often falls flat: “Squirrel…a nut. Just one? Hmmm, not so great, so let’s just forget about it.” Yes, let’s. (Graphic picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: July 20, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59270-093-6
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The dream phantasms of a high-spirited narrator intersect, even crowd, reality, but the stream-of-consciousness text makes for a rambling, radically personal tale. Playful images of a stuffed lion, trampoline, purple shoes, and a cat named Pine-Cone take hold in a young girl’s imagination, despite her “old” mother who makes her go to bed when she’d rather “stay up early” and a big sister with a cranky disposition. At home, she likes counting flea bites and pretending to be a worm, but is afraid of the dark and going to Grade One. The second half of the book takes off in a separate first-day-of school direction. Wild dreams precede the big day, which includes bullies on the playground and instant friend Chelsea. The childlike articulations of the text are endearing, but not quite of universal interest, and don’t add up to a compelling story; children may more readily warm to Gay’s illustrations, which include a dreamlike flying cat, a menacing hot dog, and an uproarious stuffed toy looming over everyday domestic scenes. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 15, 1999
ISBN: 1-55143-107-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
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