With uncommon superficiality, Greenberg develops the familiar “What are little girls/little boys made of?” rhyme into a back-and-forth between the sexes. In alternating verses, two trios of preteens—energetically posed in contemporary clothes and settings—display supposedly characteristic behavior while dissing each other: “They’re made from sparkly fingernails. / Gossipy? A lot!” receives the response, “They’re made from snakes and mice, / Laundry starting to rot.” Topics of dissension include pranks, noise, farts and general odors (“Girls have a smell / like moldy chicken pie”), styles of play and “borrowing” each other’s possessions. The tone does change toward the end, with more positive sentiments leading even into praise, but despite such weak efforts to assert the contrary, and a lovey-dovey get together at the end, the overall relationship remains one marked by separation and mutual incomprehension—and not very good poetry. Whiny rants and antediluvian attitudes are not what good, shared read-alouds are made of. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)
Pub Date: July 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-316-36210-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2005
With an eye toward easy memorization, Katz gathers over 50 short poems from the likes of Emily Dickinson, Valerie Worth, Jack Prelutsky, and Lewis Carroll, to such anonymous gems as “The Burp”—“Pardon me for being rude. / It was not me, it was my food. / It got so lonely down below, / it just popped up to say hello.” Katz includes five of her own verses, and promotes an evident newcomer, Emily George, with four entries. Hafner surrounds every selection with fine-lined cartoons, mostly of animals and children engaged in play, reading, or other familiar activities. Amid the ranks of similar collections, this shiny-faced newcomer may not stand out—but neither will it drift to the bottom of the class. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-525-47172-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2004
A dozen familiar dinosaurs introduce themselves in verse in this uninspired, if colorful, new animal gallery from the authors of Commotion in the Ocean (2000). Smiling, usually toothily, and sporting an array of diamonds, lightning bolts, spikes and tiger stripes, the garishly colored dinosaurs make an eye-catching show, but their comments seldom measure up to their appearance: “I’m a swimming reptile, / I dive down in the sea. / And when I spot a yummy squid, / I eat it up with glee!” (“Ichthyosaurus”) Next to the likes of Kevin Crotty’s Dinosongs (2000), illustrated by Kurt Vargo, or Jack Prelutsky’s classic Tyrannosaurus Was A Beast (1988), illustrated by Arnold Lobel, there’s not much here to roar about. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2005
ISBN: 1-58925-044-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2005
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