In this moonlit cat adventure first published in Australia as The Wrong Thing (2006), Lee captures the mysterious hush of a thick-with-magic night in ghostly, luminous pastels. The quietly urgent, deliciously immediate narrative begins when snow-white Hurricane blows in from his seaside wanderings and encounters a tiny, pointy-eared, faun-like intruder in his territory, a houseful of sleeping humans. But when the cat protectively declares, “There is no place for this strange thing,” it doesn’t seem remotely true: In the presence of the “flittery, skittery” fairy, a red-dressed doll has come to life, aquarium fish have sprouted human limbs and once-dead-and-framed insect specimens now carry lanterns. (In fact, readers may struggle at first to determine which of the myriad “strange things” the cat is actually pursuing.) When the faun-fairy pays a personal visit to the baby of the house, the cat intuits that it, too, is a young creature . . . and lost. In a familiar-feeling flip of perspective, the fairy rather abruptly flies back to its similarly pointy-eared parents and tells them, “I found the strangest place.” An edgy, beautifully surreal dreamscape perhaps best saved for daytime. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-375-83918-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2007
Lester’s Tacky is tacky, though he is even more a Society of Oddfellows unto himself, a pleasing misfit among his righteous penguin cohort of Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly and Perfect. Tacky is joyously oblivious of their rectitude as they prepare for the penguin Winter Games, pumping iron and skipping rope as Tacky catches a few zzz’s and equips his exer-cycle with a horn and tassels, chows pizza and donuts as the others dutifully swallow their spinach (and Munsinger is perfect here, easily capturing both sniffyness and unbridled appetite). Tacky unintentionally subverts the rules of the Games, winning but losing as officials disqualify his unorthodox stratagems. Finally, his team grabs a victory despite the fact that Tacky ate the baton. A citizen of the deep cold, it’s another Frost that Tacky emulates, the one who recommends the road not taken. Tacky, the clueless role model, takes it all the time. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-55659-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2005
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BOOK REVIEW
A good choice to share with wriggly listeners, who will soon be joining in.
A Halloween book that rides on the rhythms of “Over in the Meadow.”
Although Halloween rhyming counting books abound, this stands out, with a text that begs to be read aloud and cartoony digital illustrations that add goofy appeal. A girl and two boys set off on Halloween night to go trick-or-treating. As the children leave the cozy, warm glow of their street, readers see a haunted house on a hill, with gravestones dotting the front yard. Climbing the twisty path to the dark estate takes time, so the story turns to the antics inside the house. “At the old haunted house in a room with no sun / lived a warty green witch and her wee witch one. ‘SPELL!’ cried the witch. ‘POOF!’ cried the one. / And they both practiced spells in the room with no sun.” The actions of the scary creatures within may seem odd, but the rhyme must go on: Cats scratch, goblins dust, monsters stir, and mummies mix. Eventually the three kids reach the front door and are invited in for stew, cake and brew. At first shocked by the gruesome fare, the children recover quickly and get caught up in partying with the slightly spooky but friendly menagerie.
A good choice to share with wriggly listeners, who will soon be joining in. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4778-4769-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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