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THREE WISE OLD WOMEN

Name: THREE WISE OLD WOMEN
Author: Elizabeth T. Corbett
ISBN: 0-525-47230-4

by Elizabeth T. Corbett & illustrated by Yu-Mei Han ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2004

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Transforming a brief bit of 19th-century nonsense verse into an elaborately silly outing, Han sends three women of diverse but mature years, dressed in long, brightly hued pinafores, capering down a country road on a cherry-picking expedition, along with a similarly frisky band of bunnies, birds, and other small creatures. It all goes wrong, alas, as they first worry about nonexistent bears, then find themselves not in a tree, but blown out to sea. So: “whether they ever sailed home again / whether they saw any bears or no, / You must find out, / for I don’t know.” Despite misadventures, the sojourners generally look as if they’re enjoying themselves, and younger viewers will likewise chortle at their antics. For fans of Audrey Wood’s Silly Sally (1992) and its ilk. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-525-47230-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

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ZILOT & OTHER IMPORTANT RHYMES

by Bob Odenkirk ; illustrated by Erin Odenkirk ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 10, 2023

A lackluster collection of verse enlivened by a few bright spots.

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Poems on various topics by the actor/screenwriter and his kids.

In collaboration with his now-grown children—particularly daughter Erin, who adds gently humorous vignettes and spot art to each entry—Bob Odenkirk, best known for his roles in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, dishes up a poetic hodgepodge that is notably loose jointed in the meter and rhyme departments. The story also too often veers from child-friendly subjects (bedtime-delaying tactics, sympathy for a dog with the zoomies) to writerly whines (“The be-all and end-all of perfection in scribbling, / no matter and no mind to any critical quibbling”). Some of the less-than-compelling lines describe how a “plane ride is an irony / with a strange and wondrous duplicity.” A few gems are buried in the bunch, however, like the comforting words offered to a bedroom monster and a frightened invisible friend, not to mention an invitation from little Willy Whimble, who lives in a tuna can but has a heart as “big as can be. / Come inside, / stay for dinner. / I’ll roast us a pea!” They’re hard to find, though. Notwithstanding nods to Calef Brown, Shel Silverstein, and other gifted wordsmiths in the acknowledgments, the wordplay in general is as artificial as much of the writing: “I scratched, then I scrutched / and skrappled away, / scritching my itch with great / pan-a-ché…” Human figures are light-skinned throughout.

A lackluster collection of verse enlivened by a few bright spots. (Poetry. 6-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023

ISBN: 9780316438506

Page Count: 160

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

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HONEY, I LOVE

by Eloise Greenfield & illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2003

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Iffy art cramps this 25th-anniversary reissue of the joyful title poem from Greenfield’s first collection (1978), illustrated by the Dillons. As timeless as ever, the poem celebrates everything a child loves, from kissing Mama’s warm, soft arm to listening to a cousin from the South, “ ’cause every word he says / just kind of slides out of his mouth.” “I love a lot of things / a whole lot of things,” the narrator concludes, “And honey, / I love ME, too.” The African-American child in the pictures sports an updated hairstyle and a big, infectious grin—but even younger viewers will notice that the spray of cool water that supposedly “stings my stomach” isn’t aimed there, and that a comforter on the child’s bed changes patterns between pages. More problematic, though, is a dropped doll that suddenly acquires a horrified expression that makes it look disturbingly like a live baby, and the cutesy winged fairy that hovers over the sleeping child in the final scene. The poem deserves better. (Picture book/poetry. 6-8)