Lightly disguised as one of the old versifier's fantastical journeys, a rueful survey of the pleasures and pitfalls along the road of life—a sort of commencement address for tots and their elders. The clever, tripping rhymes and whimsical creatures and landscapes here will draw the faithful as usual, though the illustrations are subtler than the good doctor has produced at his most ebullient—there are pages where the wide world looks as placid as a counterpane, and some the beasts that lurk in wait look as though they have their own troubles. Most beguiling, however, is the artful phrasing of the gentle message: caught in life's waiting games, we wait for "the mail to come, or the rain to go/or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow. . .or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants/or a wig with curls, or Another Chance." And, while there will be fun and fame, "you'll play lonely games too./Games you can't win/'cause you'll play against you." There is, of course, an upbeat conclusion: "You're off to Great Places!. . ./So. . .get on your way!" Montaigne pointed out that it's the journey that matters, not the arrival; here, Seuss explores the same philosophical message in his own inimitably wise and witty style.
Pub Date: Feb. 10, 1990
ISBN: 0679905278
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1990
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
A wonderfully charming tale of family and sisters that anyone can bond with.
Two sisters who are constantly at odds take a family road trip that covers more ground—both literally and figuratively—than they expect.
After begging her parents for a sister, Raina gets more than she bargained for once Amara is born. From the moment she was brought home, Amara hasn’t been quite the cuddly playmate that Raina had hoped. As the years pass, the girls bicker constantly and apparently couldn’t be more unalike: Raina spends her time indoors underneath her headphones, and Amara loves animals and the outdoors. The girls, their mother and their little brother all pack up to drive to a family reunion, and it seems like the trip’s just going to be more of the same, with the girls incessantly picking on each other all the way from San Francisco to Colorado. However, when the trip doesn’t go quite as planned—for a number of reasons—the girls manage to find some common ground. Told in then-and-now narratives that are easily discernable in the graphic format, Telgemeier’s tale is laugh-out-loud funny (especially the story about the snake incident) and quietly serious all at once. Her rounded, buoyant art coupled with a masterful capacity for facial expressions complements the writing perfectly. Fans of her previous books Smile (2010) and Drama (2012) shouldn’t miss this one; it’s a winner.
A wonderfully charming tale of family and sisters that anyone can bond with. (Graphic memoir. 7-13)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-54059-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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