Howard’s great-aunt, Lulu, is the inspiration for this sweet book about a woman who is admired and loved by many. After being an elementary school teacher for 50 years and an exemplary citizen, the real Lulu became everybody’s “grandma,” just like in the book. In return for her kindness, Lulu’s family and friends want to do something nice for her birthday. Lulu suggests to the two youngsters in her care, Laurie and J. Matthew, that they celebrate her special occasion by repeating one of their favorite activities from their summer together. The trio recalls their trips to the zoo, beach, ballet, movies, and baseball game, while readers are treated to candy-colored illustrations of their happy days. Meanwhile we know the children have a secret for which we are offered hints, as bits of birthday presents, balloons, and whispering people appear in the window behind Lulu. Happily, Laurie and J. Matthew tell Lulu they are taking her somewhere for a change instead of her always being the giver. They lead her, closed-eyed and spinning, around the house, telling her not to peek until they have the delighted birthday guest-of-honor settled in her familiar comfy chair. “Surprise!” Everyone yells and Lulu opens her eyes to see a gathering of her many loved ones and a beautiful cake created by the children. This delicious story ends with the author’s family recipe for One-Two-Three-Four Cake, leaving readers with a good taste in their mouths as well as in their minds. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-15944-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gives new meaning to the notion that every dog—or pup—has its day.
A young girl learns that plans that go awry need not spoil the day.
Ollie has ambitious intentions for dog sitting Milo, her grandmother’s puppy, but those plans are spoiled when he chews up her drawing, a gift intended for Grandma when she returns from visiting friends. The girl scolds the little dog and then takes some time to herself, leaving him behind and walking farther and farther away from home in order to cool off. But as the illustrations show, Milo is never far behind, surreptitiously trailing her all the way through the woods. Ollie reflects on the part she played in the drawing’s destruction, since she knew better than to leave it unguarded on the floor, and she regrets getting mad at the dog. When she finally stops and wishes for company, the loyal pup is right nearby. They spend their day frolicking in the woods, playing fetch, splashing in mud puddles, and hunting for treasure as pirates. When they return home, she still has time to draw another picture or two. Accessible text with relatable, appealing characters helps the message of adaptability go down smoothly. The charming artwork features various shades of gray as well as pink and red spot color, often in heart shapes. Ollie, who has skin the white of the page, wears a dog costume throughout the story. Her experience demonstrates that things can work out just fine, even when they weren’t what you had in mind.
Gives new meaning to the notion that every dog—or pup—has its day. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781665965903
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
Entertaining and enjoyable for building and critter lovers.
Building a house can be a monstrous job.
A crack construction crew of nocturnal monsters, including werewolves, Invisible Man, Cyclops, and witches, teams up to build new digs for a vampire family. The challenge, foreman Frankenstein exhorts: Finish while it’s still dark; the vampires must move in before sunup. Uh-oh! It looks like they may not make the deadline. But, whew, magic prevails: “The job got done / and…no one died.” After the bloodsucker family settles in to the “SCARIEST place / with the SPOOKIEST view,” the sleepy monsters toddle off home with their trucks, tools, and equipment and head to bed. This jaunty rhyming tale will appeal as much to construction aficionados as to monster mavens. Various vehicles, tools, building materials, and nuts and bolts of the trade are mentioned and illustrated, and otherworldly laborers are depicted toiling away. The lively, clipped verses capture the rapid speed and rhythms at which the monsters work to ensure the job’s speedy completion. Humorously lively, energetic illustrations feature numerous busy, multicolored monsters and mounds of dirt; the palette highlights mostly dark shades (this is a nighttime enterprise, after all), but a full moon lights the proceedings well enough to illuminate the monsters’ comical, frantic expressions; a round yellow sun at the book’s conclusion brings the evening’s proceedings to a happy finish.
Entertaining and enjoyable for building and critter lovers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-0543-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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