Ostensibly paying homage to the illustration “The Seven Chairs” from Chris Van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (1984), Lanteigne explores the destiny of the seven chairs a man created during his life. Lanteigne’s chairs act as an analogy for the man’s growth and development. Cyclical in nature, the book begins and ends with two crooked three-legged stools: one made in the early years of the man’s life and one created in old age, both becoming the property of a calico cat. In the ensuing years the man produces a chair with a heart carved into it to express his love, as well as a child-sized one for his daughter. The destination of his fifth chair is Paris, though Van Allsburg wasn’t so specific (“The fifth one ended up in France”). There is humor to be found in the destinies of the various chairs, e.g., his masterpiece ends up as “the prop that held open the screen door of Miss Maybelle Jenkins’s Beauty and Tea Parlor.” Kovalski creates heavily pigmented pictures with lush images that lend an appropriate other-era, other-worldly feeling to the journeys of the chairs. A great book to inspire children to ponder the “lives” of the objects around them. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-531-30110-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1998
Smart, self-assured babysitter Amanda Smeedy doesn't know what she is in for when she meets the Eggmont kids. The first clue comes when Mr. and Mrs. Eggmont make a mad dash out the door. In rhyme that is forced but fun, Teague (The Secret Shortcut, 1996, etc.) tells how the Eggmont brats try to scare away clever Amanda. She yawns through their amazing exploits, and sits quietly eating ice cream after the children have worn themselves out trying to foil her. The illustrations are full of action and excitement; off-kilter perspectives fill the pages as the Eggmont children grow desperate for results. An amusing romp. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-590-67712-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The author of Luigi's All-Night Parking Lot (1990) enriches a story about a boy—a boy whose dad is too busy to recognize the importance of his son's activities—with a fantasy element dramatizing the intensity of a child's imagination. Hank, who loves to work at Dad's studio worktable, is in the midst of coloring a picture when Dad peremptorily commandeers the room for his own work: ``Go play somewhere else. Now scram!'' Complaining that he's ``not playing'' but ``working,'' Hank retires to his room, where he uses an ``acid-green crayon'' to draw a dinosaur so real that it escapes the page. Mom, out fixing the car, is startled by the huge beast but stays calm; Dad is definitely scared. After a rather confusing transition in which the big creature vanishes, Dad checks to see whether Hank is all right, apologizes, and compliments him on his ``work.'' Worthwhile point, well made. The bold, stylized forms and bright colors will be fine for groups; also, a good choice to share with the art teacher. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-525-44970-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1993
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