Oddly sterile for a book that’s all about love.
An end to the travails of being loved too much is negotiated like peace talks.
Michael and Bo are close friends. Michael is a young boy, and Bo is of the genus lab mouse—all white and pink—on steroids. Bo is hyperactive and a slob and a hog, but he also radiates the ineffable charm of the drunken uncle who puts a lampshade on his head. Like the drunken uncle, a little bit can go a long way, and though Michael loves Bo, he can’t catch a break from him either (even in the de rigueur bathroom moment). Fed up, Michael locks Bo in the house and goes off to play with his friends—all of whom wonder why Bo, their favorite mouse, isn’t in tow. Michaels misses the beast, too, though things have to change. So Michael returns home and draws up a contract stipulating certain behavioral constraints. Michael’s need for personal space is certainly understandable, but to make it a legal issue drains a critical measure of warmth from the relationship. Perhaps it is best to stand back a bit and read the book as a cautionary tale: Friends, like pets (except cats and ball pythons), don’t demand attention so much as they require it. Where the big mouse/big mouth comes into the picture is a mystery, unless it’s just there for the obvious joke. The color and texture of the artwork resembles a piece of cake one might find tucked deep in the freezer.
Oddly sterile for a book that’s all about love. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 17, 2014
ISBN: 978-1477847282
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
While Blake’s vibrantly colored, childlike pictures are appealing, the text lacks a certain je ne sais quois. (Picture book....
Blake follows her first picture book about Simon the Super Rabbit, I Don’t Want to Go to School (2009), with a disappointingly underdeveloped story about two friends and their toys.
Perhaps something got lost in translation? Initially published in France as Donner c’est donner, the story opens with Simon, “a mischievous little rabbit,” going to visit his friend Ferdinand. He brings three toy cars, and the friends immediately start negotiating a trade. Simon’s favorite color is red, and since his cars are yellow, green and blue, he wants Ferdinand’s red one. He ultimately trades his three toys for Ferdinand’s one red car (Ferdinand maintains that it is "extraordinary"), both rabbits committing to the bargain: “A deal’s a deal.” Upon getting home, Simon’s little brother calls the red car “ugwy,” and then it breaks as soon as he plays with it. A suspicious and disappointed Simon devises a plan to reverse the trade, telling Ferdinand that he left something in it. Ferdinand falls for the trick and does end up finding something inside the car; a page turn tells readers that it is “A booger.” And that’s…it. Adults may find much to ponder about the art of negotiation; children after resolution will just find it mean spirited.
While Blake’s vibrantly colored, childlike pictures are appealing, the text lacks a certain je ne sais quois. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 26, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-375-86901-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
Some students may jump on the train to act this out on the first day of school, but it lacks the humor that would give it...
This delicate Japanese import is less about assuaging school fears than about a tricky mother who gets her children to go to school against their many and varied protests.
It is the day before school starts, and the septuplets ("like twins only there are seven") are all ready for school with new hats, bags and shoes. But Mother must face the fact that her children do not want to go to school. They’ll be too tired, the wind will be too cold, they’ll meet a snake and they won’t know anyone; these are among their many excuses. Cleverly, Mother plans for the morning by unwinding two balls of yarn, making parallel lines that stretch from home all the way to school. She is unruffled when the children ignore her announcement that it is time for school—she just calmly steps out, stands between the strings and announces that the school train is departing. This piques the kids’ interest, and they are out of the house in no time, following along. But will some of their fears come true? This episode is a rather disappointing departure from the septuplets’ previous adventure, in which they were the ones to solve the problem (Mice at the Beach, 1987). Iwamura’s precise, softly colored illustrations, while adorable, add little narrative heft to the slight story.
Some students may jump on the train to act this out on the first day of school, but it lacks the humor that would give it lasting appeal. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4012-6
Page Count: 44
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
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