A gruesome tale that originally appeared in Cautionary Verses (1941)—a seriocomic fable along the lines of ``The Boy Who Cried Wolf''; the humor is in Belloc's spritely cadence and his preposterous exaggeration. Simmonds, a gifted satirist, sets the tale in pompous Victorian London, with Matilda as a mischievous Charles Addams figure, the illustrations' predominating blacks and grays contrasting with her red-rimmed eyes and the lurid flames that consume her when the fire brigade refuses to come. Skillfully varying vignettes, multiple frames, and dramatic double spreads, Simmonds reflects both the humor and the grim lesson, though the fearsome cautionary aspect weighs more heavily in her concluding pictures. Some readers may prefer to leave Matilda's demise to the imagination or to stick with Kellogg's witty interpretation in pen and ink (1970, to be reissued in May); still, Simmonds's graphic representation is full of verve, handsomely produced, and entirely in the spirit of the original. (Poetry/Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-82658-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
Charmed by her new baby brother, Elizabeti decides that she wants a baby of her own; she picks up a smooth rock, names it Eva and washes, feeds, and changes her, and carries her about in her cloth kanga. Hale dresses Elizabeti and her family in modern, brightly patterned clothing that practically glows against the earth-toned, sketchily defined Tanzanian village in which this is set. Although Eva appears a bit too large for Elizabeti to handle as easily as she does, the illustrations reflect the story’s simplicity; accompanied by an attentive hen, Elizabeti follows her indulgent mother about, mimicking each nurturing activity. The object of Elizabeti’s affection may be peculiar, but the love itself is real. Later, she rescues Eva from the fire pit, tenderly cleans her, then cradles the stone until she—Elizabeti—falls asleep. Stuve-Bodeen’s debut is quirky but believable, lightly dusted with cultural detail, and features universal emotions in an unusual setting. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 1-880000-70-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Teachers will certainly find themselves wishing for their own arsenal of supplies to help them with their grading, and...
Obviously inspired by "The Little Red Hen," this goes beyond the foundation tale's basic moral about work ethic to explore problem solving, teamwork and doing one’s best.
Nighttime at school brings the Little Red Pen out of the drawer to correct papers, usually aided by other common school supplies. But not this time. Too afraid of being broken, worn out, dull, lost or, worst of all, put in the “Pit of No Return” (aka trash), they hide in the drawer despite the Little Red Pen’s insistence that the world will end if the papers do not get corrected. But even with her drive she cannot do it all herself—her efforts send her to the Pit. It takes the ingenuity and cooperation of every desk supply to accomplish her rescue and to get all the papers graded, thereby saving the world. The authors work in lots of clever wordplay that will appeal to adult readers, as will the spicy character of Chincheta, the Mexican pushpin. Stevens’ delightfully expressive desk supplies were created with paint, ink and plenty of real school supplies. Without a doubt, she has captured their true personalities: the buck-toothed stapler, bespectacled scissors and rather empty-headed eraser.
Teachers will certainly find themselves wishing for their own arsenal of supplies to help them with their grading, and students may take a second glance at that innocuous-looking red pen on the teacher’s desk. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 18, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-15-206432-7
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
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