Two mischievous pigs, a timid baby-sitter, and an iguana on the loose make for merry mayhem in this lively tale. Geraldine conspires with her younger sibling Willy to oust their new baby-sitter, the bespectacled Mrs. Duffy. Clad in a suitably mousy-gray sweater, she seems easy pickings to the troublesome duo. Readers will gleefully recognize the subversive tactics employed by the pair: tears, tantrums, hiding in a closet, and a staunch refusal to bathe. However, this classic repertoire of antics leaves their sitter unruffled. Undeterred, Geraldine hatches a plan that involves Jerome, their pet iguana. At first, success seems imminent as Mrs. Duffy (who likes to talk in triplicate) gives a satisfyingly alarmed response (“Oh, dear, dear, dear!”) to the sight of Jerome splashing in the tub along with Geraldine and Willy. Things quickly take a downturn as Jerome makes his escape. Here’s where the indomitable Mrs. Duffy shines: scaling tables to rescue the fugitive lizard from its perch atop the bookcase, earning the respect and admiration of the children (and readers). Keller’s (Jacob’s Tree, 1999, etc.) cheeky, colorful drawings are an impish counterpart to the comical tale. Vibrant watercolors depicting the dripping-wet siblings rushing after Jerome wearing nothing but their birthday suits are hilarious, as are the many illustrations that slyly incorporate the elusive Jerome into the pictures. This is sure to strike a responsive chord in readers and their weary baby-sitters alike. As Mrs. Duffy would say, “Yes, yes, yes.” (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-688-16887-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2000
A gleeful game for budding naturalists.
Artfully cropped animal portraits challenge viewers to guess which end they’re seeing.
In what will be a crowd-pleasing and inevitably raucous guessing game, a series of close-up stock photos invite children to call out one of the titular alternatives. A page turn reveals answers and basic facts about each creature backed up by more of the latter in a closing map and table. Some of the posers, like the tail of an okapi or the nose on a proboscis monkey, are easy enough to guess—but the moist nose on a star-nosed mole really does look like an anus, and the false “eyes” on the hind ends of a Cuyaba dwarf frog and a Promethea moth caterpillar will fool many. Better yet, Lavelle saves a kicker for the finale with a glimpse of a small parasitical pearlfish peeking out of a sea cucumber’s rear so that the answer is actually face and butt. “Animal identification can be tricky!” she concludes, noting that many of the features here function as defenses against attack: “In the animal world, sometimes your butt will save your face and your face just might save your butt!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful game for budding naturalists. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781728271170
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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