Opposites attract—or do they? Diametrically different, chums Prudence and Moxie put their friendship to the test. A classic show-off, Moxie loves being the center of attention and accepts any dangerous dare like making “kissy faces at sharks” at the aquarium, rattling the gears on a giant tractor at the country fair or repeatedly riding the Submarine Sling in the amusement park. Prudence wants Moxie to meet her horse Thunder, but Moxie ignores her. Moxie’s nonstop antics embarrass quiet, practical Prudence, who wishes Moxie had never moved next door. But when Moxie is hospitalized after one dare too many, Prudence proves a true pal and Moxie accepts her invitation to ride Thunder even though she’s afraid of horses. Moxie’s reckless personality assumes obsessive proportions in the amusing acrylic-and-collage illustrations, which show her gleefully engaged in one outrageous dare after another while bemused Prudence watches in horror. Their imaginative representation as whimsical critters (moose and raccoon) adds to the humor. This fanciful foray should tickle readers who have their own mismatched friends. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 20, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-618-41607-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2009
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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