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OSCAR WILDE'S THE SELFISH GIANT

PLB 0-375-90319-4 Waters’s retelling of this tale feels overly precious and disjointed, with the figure of the Christ child made curiously heavy by its artless inclusion. As those familiar with the story know, the giant is a big lout who returns to his paradisiacal garden after an extended absence to find it overrun with children having the time of their lives. He can’t stand their noise, so he boots them out and builds a wall. Spring comes to the garden late that year, and only arrives in the company of the children, plus one special child. That child brings with him the warmth of the sun and the joys of the season, and for that the giant is grateful; he is woebegone when that child, of all the children, does not return to the grounds—at least not until it is time for the giant to ascend into the child’s garden, Paradise. Negrin’s stylized paintings, with elaborate fabrics, elongated forms, and sculptured landscapes, are studied but arresting. They are unhampered by the stiff storytelling, which never makes clear the giant’s change of heart: from walling the children out to missing their laughter. (Picture book. 6-11)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-375-80319-X

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000

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LAUGH-ETERIA

Florian’s seventh collection of verse is also his most uneven; though the flair for clever rhyme that consistently lights up his other books, beginning with Monster Motel (1993), occasionally shows itself—“Hello, my name is Dracula/My clothing is all blackula./I drive a Cadillacula./I am a maniacula”—too many of the entries are routine limericks, putdowns, character portraits, rhymed lists that fall flat on the ear, or quick quips: “It’s hard to be anonymous/When you’re a hippopotamus.” Florian’s language and simple, thick-lined cartoons illustrations are equally ingenuous, and he sticks to tried-and-true subjects, from dinosaurs to school lunch, but the well of inspiration seems dry; revisit his hilarious Bing Bang Boing (1994) instead. (index) (Poetry. 8-10)

Pub Date: April 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-15-202084-5

Page Count: 158

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999

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THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS EXPLORES THE SENSES

The way-off-road vehicle (The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field, 1997, etc.) tours the ears, eyes, nose, and skin when the assistant principal, Mr. Wilde, accidentally shrinks the school bus and the children on board, commandeering it to deliver a message to Ms. Frizzle. The vehicle plunges into the eye of a police officer, where the students explore the pupil, the cornea, the retina, and the optic nerve leading to the brain. Then it’s on to other senses, via the ear of a small child, the nose of a dog, and the tongue of the Friz herself. Sidebars and captions add to the blizzard of information here; with a combination of plot, details, and jokes, the trip is anything but dull. The facts will certainly entice readers to learn more about the ways living creatures perceive the world. (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: March 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-590-44697-5

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999

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