Superb haiku about animals and the weather, preceded with an instructive note about the form—where it comes from, how it's defined, how to write it, how to read it. Harris (July Is a Mad Mosquito, 1994, not reviewed, etc.) makes his haiku a kind of lyrical punchline that holds readers by virtue of its melodic wistfulness as well as by virtue of its cleverness: ``Blue patches of noon—/the crows caw-cawling/on the telephone wire.'' The woodcuts are completely of a piece with the poems. Manson creates spare nature scenes—birds in the fields, clouds in the sky, images that tend toward the abstract—to be pondered along with the words. A beautiful collection to be savored by readers even as it inspires them. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-689-31899-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1995
Music has the capacity to make friends of enemies, in this quiet study of one introverted fellow: Mole. Mole spends his days alone in his underground hovel, until one night while eating supper in front of the television, he hears the sweet sound of a violin. “I want to make beautiful music, too,” Mole claims, then sends away for a violin of his own. One note leads to another, and his music goes from screeching to symphonic. Unbeknownst to him, his years of underground practice have overarching effects, seen by readers only in the illustrations. Lilting strains of music attract birds, farmers, presidents, and queens. Mole’s subterranean world, a realm of permanent night, is softly lit by glowing umber, while outside, fighting armies lay down their arms as the music plays on. With endearing characterizations stylistically akin to Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad, the beloved Mole will easily win the affections of readers and inspire young hopes for a better world. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8050-2819-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
Overhearing that her job at the diner might be eliminated, Pinky Pig sets out to discover new ways to improve customer satisfaction. Can she save her job and earn enough money to buy a clarinet? Her new menu brings in the customers in droves. Children will squirm over the new concoctions, with something unique for each patron: Snailburger Supreme for Hedgehog, a burger with worms lightly fried for Mole, a termite-infested burger for Aardvark, not to mention Burger Deluxe, which has three kinds of bugs! Who could resist? Yee (Fireman Small to the Rescue, 1998, etc.) pens this fable lightly, but the moral is plain: by putting others first, Pinky attains what she wants. Whimsical, often hilarious watercolors show Pinky fast at work collecting assorted bugs of all sizes and shapes. Up-and-coming young biologists might be inspired to come up with some recipes of their own. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-87548-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
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