by Donna Diamond & illustrated by Donna Diamond ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2010
Alone at dusk, a girl wordlessly tackles a demon. On the title page, she stands outdoors; observant readers will notice (though the girl doesn’t) that even in sunlight, her shadow has glowing eyes, shaped menacingly. As the sky purples, the girl heads indoors and up a misshapen staircase to her bedroom. The shadow’s silhouette roughly mimics the girl’s body angle and shape, its eyes always frighteningly sinister. Suddenly she sees it. After a few terrified postures, she folds her arms and faces it down. For the first time, its eyes show subdued repentance or fear. The girl turns on a bright bulb, ostensibly banishing shadows and gloom, but even then, a distorted bookcase and oddly mobile drapes maintain the eerie atmosphere. She falls asleep feeling safe, bed flooded in moonlight. On the final page, though, demonic eyes glow underneath the bed. Diamond’s photorealistic acrylic paintings are haunting and may haunt—furniture and walls curve and buckle, light sources behave surreally and the lack of text evokes silent nightmares. Powerful, but select audience carefully. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4878-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010
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by Andrew Clements & illustrated by R.W. Alley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 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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by David Shannon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1999
The poster boy for relentless mischief-makers everywhere, first encountered in No, David! (1998), gives his weary mother a rest by going to school. Naturally, he’s tardy, and that’s but the first in a long string of offenses—“Sit down, David! Keep your hands to yourself! PAY ATTENTION!”—that culminates in an afterschool stint. Children will, of course, recognize every line of the text and every one of David’s moves, and although he doesn’t exhibit the larger- than-life quality that made him a tall-tale anti-hero in his first appearance, his round-headed, gap-toothed enthusiasm is still endearing. For all his disruptive behavior, he shows not a trace of malice, and it’ll be easy for readers to want to encourage his further exploits. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-48087-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
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