Excuses, excuses. Shannon’s potatohead (No, David, 1998; David Goes to School, 1999), born to be trouble, is back. “No,” ever a part of David’s elder’s vocabulary, is now part of David’s. “No, it’s not my fault,” for instance. David has learned the fine art of excuse-making: I didn’t mean to, it was an accident, I forgot, the dog ate it (as the dog peers through the classroom window, homework in his mouth, giving David’s excuses a two-edged appeal). Shannon’s double-paged spreads are active in mood, color, and sight gags as David unfurls one excuse after another: “I was hungry,” as he chows a dog biscuit; “I couldn’t help it,” as he cracks a crazy face for the class photo; “But Dad says it,” with a bar of soap sticking out of his mouth. As usual, the adults are seen only in pieces, David is clearly the focal point, beginning with the title page, Mom seen only from the chest down, hands on hips, one foot tapping. Then, in the trademark finish, David offers up an apology, “Yes! It was me!” ready to take the heat, “I’m sorry,” his head taking up both pages, before he murmurs, “I love you, Mom.” Disarming as he always is—what a blessing he lives on the page and not in our lives. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-439-05022-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers who have ever wondered what it’s like to be a twin need look no further.
All children have “firsts,” but twins have their own special ones.
Two rosy-cheeked 5-year-old “look-alike” twin sisters share everything, but their most prized possession is a bright, striped blanket that stands out from the white background and the girls’ soft colors. Now that the blanket has become too small, who should keep it? On double-page spreads each girl gives her version of the dilemma. A truce is reached when their mother decides that they’ll sleep in twin beds and that she’ll make them each a new blanket. The sisters’ individual personalities begin to shine, as does the vibrant fabric that each picks out, and fun ensues when they help their mother wash and dry the fabric in the backyard. Even with their new blankets—with trim formed from their old blanket—the girls have trouble falling asleep in separate beds until they both reach out their hands to comfort one another in the dark. From newborns sleeping in similar poses to slumbering youngsters sprawled out in opposite positions to the selection of differently colored and designed fabrics, Yum’s deceptively quiet text and poignant illustrations, created from prints, colored pencil, watercolor and other media, convey the girls’ growing independence. Despite this divide—which is both physical and emotional—the twins recognize their inseparable bond.
Readers who have ever wondered what it’s like to be a twin need look no further. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-37972-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
Like marshmallow on top of caramel.
Little Bear loves everything about Christmas, but there’s one thing he loves even more.
The Bear household is busily getting ready for Christmas. Mommy Bear wraps and bakes; Daddy Bear brings home a humongous tree; Little Bear exults in it all. With each new Christmas tradition that’s introduced, from opening Christmas cards to receiving carolers, Little Bear sings a song that celebrates it. “I love ornaments, and garland, and lights on a string, / candy canes, stockings—and all of the things / that make Christmas perfect—oh, yes, I do! / But the thing that I love more than Christmas is—” But before Little Bear can complete his rhyme, each time he is interrupted by a new element of Christmas to celebrate. Since that terminal rhyme is always set up with one that ends with an “oo” sound, readers will not be surprised in the least when Mommy and Daddy interrupt him one last time with an emphatic “YOU!” It’s all so uber-idealized readers may find themselves gagging on the syrup—it even seems to get at Hattie: Daddy Bear’s smug “What an exceedingly talented family we are” has a whiff of irony to it. Warnes’ cartoon bears inhabit a cozy, middle-class home; while the carolers are clothed, the Bear family is not, but readers may notice a white marking on Mommy Bear’s chest where a string of pearls might rest.
Like marshmallow on top of caramel. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68010-208-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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