In lightly sentimental language that will strike a chord with Velveteen Rabbit fans, Kleven takes the small paper doll introduced in Paper Princess (1994) through further adventures and changes. When her young maker grows past the point of being able to hear her, a kindly dog carries the faded princess outside. Off she’s carried by the wind, to hazardous encounters with a cat and a toddler, to a brief stay with a shelf of store-bought toys who are awed by her ability to “fly” without batteries, and to the top of a Christmas tree. Later she flutters along with zillions of monarch butterflies to a distant, warm country where a new child gives her fresh layers of love and clothing. Constructed (naturally) of paper in Kleven’s painted collages, but with a wreath of fuzz around her head for hair, the princess faces each up and down with open arms and a subtly changing smile, to go along with her welcoming spirit. Younger readers will gladly go along on her odyssey, and thoughtful older ones may glimpse the metaphorical journey underlying it. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-525-46911-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Having made it her mission to impart life information to middle-graders, Cameron brings Julian’s friend Gloria (Gloria’s Way, 2000) to the forefront once again for a series of edifying encounters. After the woman in line behind her in the store, who turns out to be former astronaut Dr. Grace Street, fills her head with starry visions and lectures her on negative thinking, Gloria heads to fourth grade. There bully—er, Billy Watkins gets her in trouble, and her burned-out teacher, Priscilla “Dragon of Doom” Yardley, decides that she’s a liar for claiming to have met an astronaut. Ultimately, Gloria gets to see Dr. Street visit the class, to deliver another inspirational lecture, and to set Mrs. Yardley straight, then screws up her courage to climb Old Rocket, the biggest pine tree in the park, to reflect on big things, little things, and mastering fear. Toft’s penciled portraits capture Gloria’s pigtailed likability nicely; Cameron’s crisply direct advice, all of which is right on, ranges from practical items like never looking directly at the sun, to profound character-building insights—and the learning goes on in an author’s note citing Internet resources about space exploration. “Live and Learn” is the unstated theme, and by the end, readers will have a sense of what makes even Mrs. Yardley and Billy tick. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 21, 2002
ISBN: 0-374-32675-4
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2002
Look out: Mean Bulldog Pike and his sniggering steed Bullet are on the loose again (The Adventures of Jules and Gertie, 1999), intent on parting the sun-blistered folks of Knot Belly from their hard-earned cash by cornering the market on water. Luckily, that “brave cowgirl with amazing hair,” Jules, and her multitalented cayuse Gertie, who can “sing, dance, cook, make a mean cup of coffee, multiply, divide, and speak three languages” stand in the way. Despite the super-contrived plot, there’s not much suspense, but Watson tells the tale with gusto, and in the simply drawn cartoons depicts her characters in suitably melodramatic poses. Purty thin, though, next to the likes of Denslow’s On the Trail with Miss Pace (1995) or Lowell’s Cindy Ellen: A Wild Western Cinderella (2000). (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 25, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-11863-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2002
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