The text of this alphabet book makes a nice birthday gift, but the wrappings—the exquisitely crafted illustrations—are even better. Twenty-six dandily dressed critters (there is no animal for X, but the Lion has a scion) proclaim birthday greetings to lucky readers. The accompanying verses by Metaxas sometimes clank and rattle, but almost always play second fiddle to the drawings. ``O is for Orangutan,/who from a limb is seen to hang'' is awkward, but the ape's picture is worth its weight in words. Raglin (Pecos Bill, Picture Book Studio, 1991) shows a British influence: his impish humor and unstuffy formality are reminiscent of Tenniel or Graeme Base, though he does not possess the dynamism found in the latter's popular works. Readers with a knack for history can entertain themselves by trying to figure out the historical periods of the animals' elegant costumes. This bunch is a treat to behold. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-671-88306-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
A little jet fuel to prepare young readers for the last day of school. Here’s a welcome relief from all those titles aimed at soothing the tremors that accompany the first day of school; now it’s the last day of school and the aim is to keep the lid on until the last bell and atone for all the mischief of the preceding ten months. James, the class cutup, runs down the list of things he will and will not do on the last day of school. No multiple trips to the bathroom, no dawdling at the janitor’s office on the way back, no grimacing at the lunch offerings, or showing “Tiffany Primrose how I can burp and talk at the same time.” He will, however, do his work on time, buff his desk until it glows, and “give Mrs. Bremwood my strongest hug ever.” Wakiyama’s demonstrative, electric artwork conveys all of James high-octane promises in a story that radiates the lighter side—or anyway more rascally side—of schooling. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-399-23498-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2004
A cycle of seasons, illustrated in candy-heart–colored collages and observed through a child’s eyes: “I know it’s Spring when robins sing / and tulips give a nod, / When grass grows green / and bass are seen on Daddy’s fishing rod.” Constructed from cotton puffs, buttons, swatches of cloth or tissue, and the like, Bronson’s art creates a stylized, fanciful world through which the pink-cheeked, pigtailed narrator dances, accompanied by parents (their gender roles clearly and conventionally defined) and a younger sibling. It’s pretty—but the singsong text and natural detail that is stylized rather than accurately rendered, make this read-aloud more a bonbon than an intellectually or emotionally nourishing introduction to the annual round. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-57505-537-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lerner
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2004
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