Skip. (Picture book. 5-10)
Little princeling Sid leaves the palace seeking what he lacks.
Brown-skinned Little Sid’s just a normal kid except that his parents are the king and queen. Every moment they surround him with fun and entertainment, but Sid’s not happy. He wants to spend time with his busy parents. Giving up on them, he sets out one day to find happiness in the world and hears of three wise ones who live on a mountain. Sid first meets a man who tells him his unhappiness will pass. He then meets a woman who makes him think about perception. Finally, while hanging precariously from a cliff’s edge, he meets a mouse who teaches him to value each moment. He walks down the mountain, happy and changed. He gives away his possessions and forces his parents to share a moment with him. Bouma’s illustrations are bright and expressive, but, as an introduction to the life and eventual teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, Lendler’s tale is a facile misrepresentation of the Buddha’s story. Siddhartha’s father was present in his life, and his mother died shortly after his birth. The historical “Sid” was never allowed out of the palace as a child. Buddhist families may recognize Buddhist teachings but might react to it the way Christian families would to a picture book of Jesus pulling loaves and fishes from his swaddling clothes and climbing on a cross while still in the manger. The three-paragraph note about the real Buddha at the close does not mitigate what’s gone before.
Skip. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Jan. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62672-636-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Warp back in time for a prehistoric spinoff adventure with Geronimo Stilton’s ancestor, Geronimo Stiltonoot, in Old Mouse City.
Readers will find Geronimo Stiltonoot a familiar character, outfitted differently from descendant Stilton yet still running a newspaper and having wild adventures. In this introduction to prehistoric mouse life, someone has stolen the most powerful and important artifact housed by the Old Mouse City Mouseum: the Stone of Fire. It’s up to Stiltonoot and his fellow sleuth and friend, Hercule Poirat, to uncover not only the theft, but a dangerous plot that jeopardizes all of Old Mouse City. As stand-ins for the rest of the Stilton cast, Stiltonoot has in common with Stilton a cousin named Trap, a sister named Thea and a nephew named Benjamin. The slapstick comedy and design, busy with type changes and color, will be familiar for Stilton readers. The world is fictionalized for comedic effect, featuring funny uses for dinosaurs and cheeky references to how far back in time they are, with only the occasional sidebar that presents facts. The story takes a bit long to get started, spending a lot of time reiterating the worldbuilding information laid out before the first chapter. But once it does start, it is an adventure Stilton readers will enjoy. Geronimo Stiltonoot has the right combination of familiarity and newness to satisfy Stilton fans. (Fiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-44774-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1965) upgrades to The Mice and the Rolls-Royce.
In Windsor Castle there sits a “dollhouse like no other,” replete with working plumbing, electricity, and even a full library of real, tiny books. Called Queen Mary’s Dollhouse, it also plays host to the Whiskers family, a clan of mice that has maintained the house for generations. Henry Whiskers and his cousin Jeremy get up to the usual high jinks young mice get up to, but when Henry’s little sister Isabel goes missing at the same time that the humans decide to clean the house up, the usually bookish big brother goes on the adventure of his life. Now Henry is driving cars, avoiding cats, escaping rats, and all before the upcoming mouse Masquerade. Like an extended version of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Two Bad Mice (1904), Priebe keeps this short chapter book constantly moving, with Duncan’s peppy art a cute capper. Oddly, the dollhouse itself plays only the smallest of roles in this story, and no factual information on the real Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House is included at the tale’s end (an opportunity lost).
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales. (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6575-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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