A wheel finds more fulfillment in work than in being a work of art in this rough-hewn tale. Though happy enough being a park sculpture, drawing birds and children by creaking around in the breeze, Willie confesses to the Moon a longing for new sights. When an appreciative politician has him uprooted and trucked off to parts unknown, Willie escapes, rolling through town until he’s finally too bent to travel. After dreaming of flying with the Moon, he is ultimately rescued from the garbage by a handyman who includes him as part of an antique-style bicycle—as Chenn so cleverly puts it: “a ‘moving’ piece of art.” The vibrant colors on the dust jacket fade to dull, muddy tones inside, but the modernistic paper collage and scribble illustrations are more arty than inviting anyway, and like the plot, are unlikely to make much of an impression on young viewers. Tales from “Gingerbread Boy” to Deborah Lund’s All Aboard the Dinotrain (April 2006), illustrated by Howard Fine, better celebrate the joys and sorrows of going mobile. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-9762-0567-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Heryin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
At her best, Rylant’s (The Ticky-Tacky Doll, below, etc.) sweetness and sentiment fills the heart; in this outing, however, sentimentality reigns and the end result is pretty gooey. Pandora keeps a lighthouse: her destiny is to protect ships at sea. She’s lonely, but loves her work. She rescues Seabold and heals his broken leg, and he stays on to mend his shipwrecked boat. This wouldn’t be so bad but Pandora’s a cat and Seabold a dog, although they are anthropomorphized to the max. Then the duo rescue three siblings—mice!—and make a family together, although Rylant is careful to note that Pandora and Seabold each have their own room. Choosing what you love, caring for others, making a family out of love, it is all very well, but this capsizes into silliness. Formatted to look like the start of a new series. Oh, dear. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-689-84880-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
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