None
Falconer adds a new color for this fourth offering in readers’ long-standing love affair with the inimitable Olivia—and she still rules. The occasion is a family outing to a fireworks display. Disappointed that there will be no band, Olivia decides to make her own. Deserted by her disobliging family, she spends the day hilariously rounding up all the instruments necessary to turn herself into a one-pig band. “To Olivia, she sounded just like a real band.” (Cue the double-page fold-out in “Tempo marziale.”) At departure time, Olivia decides to abandon the band and apply makeup. Amazing makeup. This evokes a rare, blunt response from Everymom: “ . . . you’re gorgeous! Now wipe that glop off your face.” After the most glorious of sunsets and magical fireworks displays, the exhausted family is home to bed, where Olivia dreams yet another BIG dream with herself seated self-assuredly in—well, we won’t spoil the surprise. So consummately consistent are Falconer’s characterizations and so perceptive are Olivia’s constant fans, that every deft facial nuance will be met with squeals of approval for the most popular pig in America—and her long-suffering mother. (Picture book. 4+)
None NonePub Date: June 6, 2006
ISBN: 1-4169-2454-X
Page Count: 50
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2006
IN THE NEWS
Well-nigh Wondrous.
When a strange orb falls into their habitat, the Spider commandeers it, constructing “WonderVille” and selling tickets to long lines of curious insects.
The object (readers will recognize it as a yellow-green marble) invites considerable speculation. Is it a gumdrop, a comet, a chrysalis? The Spider, nixing the chatter, asserts that “whatever it is, it most certainly belongs to me,” insisting that the sphere has fallen into his web. He constructs a “Grand Exhibit” to showcase “the Wonder from the Sky.” As lines of visitors lengthen, admission increases from one leaf to two—then more—until visitors cease. The Spider presumes they’ve gone to invite prospective customers. That self-aggrandizing assumption is rendered moot by “the Unexpected Disaster. / A five-legged creature stole the Wonder and took it back to the sky.” (This deus ex machina is a child’s hand.) Time passes, WonderVille reverts to its previous state, and insects return. The Spider, ignored, experiences a nighttime epiphany as stars shine down. “They didn’t hide their light from anyone. Not even a selfish Spider.” Patiently, he spins webs, and “sure enough, more Wonders fell from the sky.” In graphite-gray spreads rife with delicate flora, colorful new “Wonders” (a thimble, pushpin, Lego, and more) captivate the neighborhood—free of charge. The Fans’ marvelous illustrations sparkle with nuance, from lofting dandelion seeds to the Spider’s dew-dropped web. The pro-community message is slightly undermined by the choice to portray a gendered, top-hatted, preponderantly male cast. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Well-nigh Wondrous. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5762-1
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
The creepy-crawly close-up photo of a hairy spider on the cover will have kids (and adults) saying “Yuck!” while they grab the book to look for more inside. As with other Simon photographic nonfiction, this presents information on spiders in easy, understandable prose. The facts are made relative—for example, “jumping spiders can leap a distance of 40 times the length of its own body, the same as if you jumped the length of two basketball courts and made a slam dunk.” Examples interestingly describe the facts, e.g., “some spider silk is three times stronger than steel wire of the same thickness.” This is casual nonfiction, no chapters, categories, or index, but the amazing close-up color photos make the almost conversational text captivating. A subject that both fascinates and repels at the same time, this mini-documentary will have kids spinning their own stories about the spiders they’ve now discovered. (Nonfiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-06-028391-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2003
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