A well-intentioned, if peculiar, fantasy.
A troubled boy helps an outcast creature in this picture book.
Justin wonders why his classmates and his brother bully him. In a dream, he finds himself on a beach, where he spots a “pitiful,” odd-looking creature crying. Then Justin steps on a magical snake, who claims that anyone who steps on him will get three wishes. The serpent also explains that the crying creature is a “Werloobee” named Irvino who’s been banished by others of his kind; Irvino wants to gain weight to “look...like the other dudes.” Justin uses his wishes to help him, and Irvino soon grows and becomes popular with other Werloobees. When Irvino steps on the snake, Justin asks him to use one wish to send him back home. Justin awakens on a bus, where he’s bullied by classmates—but they stop when a boy named Irving steps in. The topics that Weisberg and Yoffe (All Across Canada, 2008) address are commendable, and Justin is a sympathetic protagonist. However, most of the book consists of Justin watching Irvino from afar; Irvino doesn’t speak, so the conversation is mediated by the snake. It would have been interesting to see more direct interaction between them, as Irvino is the main catalyst in Justin’s journey. However, the vibrant illustrations complement the text nicely.
A well-intentioned, if peculiar, fantasy.Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-84991-285-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Waldorf Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 24, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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