Overall, merely adequate.
The grass has been greener on the other side for millennia—just ask our prehistoric friend Dave.
Dave lives in a cave decorated with realistic wall paintings, there’s green grass outside, and his woodland friends—a bird and a squirrel—enjoy spending time at his prehistoric bachelor pad. Yet even with all of his comforts, Dave is worried that he may be missing out on a bigger and better cave. It’s this fear that drives Dave out to find a better home and leads readers to question if the grass really is greener on the other side. While readers ponder the existential gravitas of this inquiry, they’ll follow Dave as he travels from caves that are too small, too big, etc. Unsurprisingly, the cave that Dave ultimately ends up in is very familiar. The message of the book is strong, but the writing weakens the point through irregular cavemanspeak that includes words such as “quite” and “cozy” but misses basic verbs. Adults reading the book aloud will quickly tire of the narrative style. The digitally created illustrations are done in the collage style but lack the energy and whimsy of the medium. Dave’s pale skin tone and mop of green hair are roughly styled in The Flintstones school, but he is far more inscrutable than Fred or Barney ever were; his facial expressions do not easily reflect the emotional responses of his situations.
Overall, merely adequate. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9628-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Told in first-person voice by older Sophie, the capricious tale will have young girls wishing for a silly grandma just like...
Grandma Tillie feels old and just likes to sit and knit. Or does she?
When Grandma Tillie comes to babysit Sophie and Chloe, she transforms herself into a series of frolicking companions, beginning with “The Tillie Vanilly Show.” She juggles and tells jokes at the same time; struts a conga line into the kitchen, where she serves up worm chili with glue gravy or frosted snake toes from Chef Silly Tillie’s Diner. At bedtime, Madame Frilly Tillie washes and soaps the girls with bubble make-up. All clean and ready for a story, the girls ask for the real Grandma Tillie to reappear, and she does. The whimsical illustrations of pencil on paper, digitally painted, finesse the exaggeration with colorful details: Grandma Tillie in her various disguises sports a fuchsia lampshade hat, chartreuse top, pink hair and rhinestone cat's-eye glasses. A brown-and-white cat is part of the mischief in every scene.
Told in first-person voice by older Sophie, the capricious tale will have young girls wishing for a silly grandma just like Tillie, especially if she can hang a spoon from her nose. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-979974-68-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flashlight Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
This closely follows an earlier adventure, Piglet Bo Can Do Anything (2015), which may explain the abruptness of both...
In this Belgian import, a porcine hero faces his fears and (sort of) triumphs over them.
Piglet Bo, a simply drawn, anthropomorphic pig, proudly proclaims that he “is not scared” of various venues, animals, and activities. From a mouse (which is fortuitously routed by a passing cat) through an empty room, a deep hole, a stand of stinging nettles, and a roller coaster, Piglet Bo finds ways to avoid entirely or, at the least, minimize each potentially frightening experience. The first-person, stream-of-consciousness text uses repetition to convey the (not so) hidden truth that he is, indeed, quite afraid after all. While this is no doubt a familiar feeling for many small children (and some adults), the overlong and occasionally awkward narration is more likely to distance listeners than to draw them in. The mixed-media illustrations may also be somewhat off-putting, as Piglet Bo appears to be transparent at times (the colors of the setting showing through his outline, in whole or in part), and varying depictions of a wild dog or wolf lurk menacingly in many of the compositions.
This closely follows an earlier adventure, Piglet Bo Can Do Anything (2015), which may explain the abruptness of both opening and closing; fans of his first outing may enjoy seeing him again so soon, but those meeting him for the first time may be unimpressed. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-63450-182-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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