Zoe, worried that she is not special, has the bad habit of making up outrageous stories and trying to pass them off as the truth in order to make herself appear more interesting. Her constant lying has made her classmates, teacher, and parents suspicious of anything she says. Even when Zoe tells the truth, no one believes her except her devoted younger brother, Joey, and her kind friend, Michael, and even they are getting fed up. The didactic intent is hammered home with such force by Korman (Why Did the Underwear Cross the Road, 1994, etc.) that even readers who aren't paying attention will know they are being lectured. The messages—lying is bad, imagination is good, everyone is special—are both cloying and obvious. In her odd and childlike black-and-white illustrations, Adinolfi is behind the most imaginative aspects of the book; Korman displays little affection for his main character and even less for the readers for whom this story is intended. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-590-27142-3
Page Count: 84
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1997
Going produce shopping with Freymann and Elffers is more of a casting call than a trip to the supermarket, for they use fruits and vegetables to display a wide range of emotions. Children and their keepers will be astonished to discover how closely the wrinkles, bends, and creases in produce can mimic human feelings. The text is fairly direct, asking questions to make children think about their emotions: “When you’re angry, do you pout? Whine? Cry? Scream? Shout?” The ridges of a red pepper, with eyes of dried peas, convey the pout, while other fruit demonstrate the rest of the query. These full-color photographs communicate most of the information; even preschoolers will be able to tell a happy orange from a glum one, and adults will smile to see an onion crying. The organic qualities of the produce are used to charming advantage, e.g., the bend of a green pepper makes the perfect overbearing profile of a bully, while a hollowed-out orange gives just the right depth to an opened-mouthed howl. Fun, and useful—what child would not be encouraged to talk about being shy when there is a cantaloupe that admits to exactly the same thing? (Picture book. 4-9)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-439-10431-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
An earnest and overwrought attempt at bibliotherapy, with strikingly fine illustrations. A child describes bottles, lots of bottles: “My mom leaves bottles all over the place.” Bottles come in many shapes and colors, the child says, like the people who drink from them, but inside, those bottles all hold alcohol. The child tells us “I want it to be me and my mom. But NO BOTTLES.” A teacher sees something the narrator has written, and encourages the child to do things that help, “like ride my bike, read a book” when a parent is drinking. The text never rises above this level of awkwardness. The illustrations, however—brightly colored tissue-paper silhouettes on a white background—are marvelous. The figures of both adult alcoholics, the teacher, and the child are faceless but clearly portray attitudes of sorrow, loneliness, or concern. The bottles, whole or broken, take on a somewhat sinister life, conveying the child’s feelings toward them. The book ends with addresses, telephone numbers, and web sites where children of alcoholics can get help. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-88106-317-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
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