One day a big wind blew. Trees fell and a gas pump flew. From somewhere a red roof spun through the air and came down with a BUMP!" From that relatively straightforward introduction Raskin launches into one of her nonsensical plays on the sound and sight and independent existence of words. The gas pump and red roof (the latter, really a sort of detached attic, inhabited by a young mouse) land effectively in the laps of a moose and a goose — who, reading the sign, decide that their small visitor must be a gas. ("Hello Gas.") Mouse's protests (he thinks he's a Moose, but the others know better) send all three on a search for his mother, his house and his name, and different signs and structures along the way suggest to Moose and Goose that the mouse is a lion, a phone, a bus, a mail and a stop. (This last is Goose's conclusion, though Moose argues, "No, no, his name is Go.") Children, more in touch than literate adults are with words as physical objects, will probably find all this funnier than we do — but it's justified at any level by the turnabout that follows: when the three finally do come to a small, roofless red house complete with waiting mother, Goose and Moose are sure that their friend is a snow — an error easily understood when you see the arrow-shaped sign labeled "mouse" turned upside down, and easily remedied when the now happy mouse, no longer a nobody, turns it right side round. Demonstrating not only the satisfaction of having a home, a mother, and an identity and the importance of words in providing the last of the three, but proving also Raskin's ability (less evident in Who Said Sue and Moe Q. McGlutch) to inform her silly situations and crisp, witty pictures with some unobtrusive psychological substance.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1974
ISBN: 0590321633
Page Count: 58
Publisher: Parents Magazine Press
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1974
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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