Parents never listen. Elizabeth has been trying to tell them about all the myriad fish squeezing out of the bathroom faucet upstairs, but they ignore her . . . until a baby beluga in a bathtub plunges through the kitchen ceiling from above. Elizabeth keeps Mom and Dad from calling the National Guard by fetching the plumber from her beloved aquarium. He explains that they have a “fish jam,” a mix-up with the aquarium pipes, and proceeds to free the backed-up fish from the plumbing. Soon marine life peers out from every watery window in the house. All ends well: The family home becomes an aquarium for wayward fish, “And from then on, Elizabeth’s parents listened very carefully whenever Elizabeth spoke.” The storyline itself is appealing, but Elizabeth’s repeated attempts to communicate with her relentlessly clueless parents wear just a bit thin. Anderson’s soft, delicate Peter Sís–like illustrations serve up plenty of fishy fun and their lovely subtleties provide an interesting complement to this utterly over-the-top story of guppy love. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: June 2, 2005
ISBN: 0-525-47166-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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