The hens who overhear a chicken’s innocent remark about losing a feather—and then pass the information on from one bird to another—do not recognize their own tale as, in true “telephone” fashion, it evolves into a story about how five lovesick hens killed themselves by plucking out all of their feathers and then pecking each other. “Spread the news!” Sadly, this retelling of Andersen’s “There Is No Doubt About It” falls far short of Janet Stevens’s touchstone but out-of-print version: It’s Perfectly True (1988). The clichés and asides used throughout the retelling are distracting, taking away from, rather than adding to the progression. Large font emphasizes some of the dialogue, but the placement and design of the layout seem disjointed and forced. Czernecki’s bold and vividly colored graphics are definitely attention-grabbing, but not enough so to redeem the retelling. (Picture book/folktale. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-87483-742-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: August House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2004
While the charming illustrations give this title great shelf appeal, lack of narrative depth makes it best suited for...
A Peruvian príncipe sets out to foil his mamá and marry the girl of his dreams in this Latinx-inspired adaptation of “The Princess and the Pea” from Spanish-language–adaptation veteran Elya (La Madre Goose, 2016, etc.).
En route to her own castle, the titular princesa catches the eye of the prince, who invites her to stay the night. The classic Hans Christian Andersen tale unfolds with Latin flair in rhyming couplets sprinkled with Spanish vocabulary terms. The appeal here is for non-native speakers seeking an introduction to the language. At times the dual-language rhyme becomes awkward with phrasing that misses the mark in both languages, “The girl stretched her brazos / and yawned with her boca”—as if she’d yawn with anything other than her mouth? The text also fails to establish the mother’s motive for putting the pea under the mattresses, and for this reason background knowledge of the original is a prerequisite to truly enjoy this adaption. Martinez-Neal’s darling, soft-edged mixed-media illustrations bring the brown-skinned characters to life in costumes from different regions of Peru, while guinea pigs and alpaca fleece create an atmosphere of a busy rural textile industry.
While the charming illustrations give this title great shelf appeal, lack of narrative depth makes it best suited for comparison with the original rather than a title that stands on its own. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-25156-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Tasty fare for alien fans.
When his summer snack stand fails to attract family and neighbors, an enterprising young chef with a flair for the unusual draws some very weird customers from way out of town.
This creative young boy likes to help his mom cook and make up his own recipes. His sister finds his eggplant, mustard, and lemonade smoothie disgusting and warns him that no one in the world or the universe would eat what he cooks. Undaunted, he builds a snack stand, but no one comes for his waffles, smoothies and sandwiches. Just as the boy gives up, a flying saucer lands near the shack one night, and his first alien customer samples the mushroom iced tea. Word spreads through the galaxy, and creatures line up nightly for their favorite dishes: Swiss-cheese doughnut holes, turnip-side-down cake, sponge cake with leeks, and bean puffs. But when the boy mixes all his favorite ingredients into Galactic Pudding, he may have gone too far for even his far-out clientele. Rendered in ink, pencil and digital techniques, quiet illustrations embellish the spare text by casting glowing moonlight on a bevy of eerie, silly, fantastical extraterrestrials in nocturnal purples, blues and greens. Whimsical pairing of creatures and snacks—an enormous critter with a giant mouthful of teeth loves the toothpaste soup, for instance—proves especially rib-tickling.
Tasty fare for alien fans. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8027-2398-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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