A trio of mice living in a dollhouse in a New York City department store decides to hitch a ride in a shopping bag in search of an adventure. Taking a taxi ride nestled deep in tissue paper and stuffed animals, Marvin, Raymond, and Fats are deposited right across the street from Central Park, where they enjoy the day watching the people whizzing by on bicycles and, Marvin’s favorite, Rollerblades. Intending to return home, they bustle back across the busy street, disguised as bits of trash. There, Raymond sees something that stops their progress: the Guggenheim Museum. Once inside, their real adventure begins. Raymond is finally in his element, able to enjoy all of the artwork he has only read about. The spiraling ramp inspires Marvin to take up Rollerblading, which Raymond’s ingenuity makes possible. The real surprise, however, is Fats’s newfound talent as an artist. Combining found-object collages and condiment paint, his work is soon the toast of the New York art scene, garnering him a one-mouse show at the Googlestein (Guggenheim). Unfortunately, his status as a mouse makes it impossible for him to reveal himself—only his friends know the truth behind the mysterious artist. The mouse’s-eye view of the peculiar habits of humans and famous works of art will amuse and inspire young readers. Simple line drawings of the gang’s exciting adventures pepper the text. A whisker-tingling adventure. (Fiction. 7-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-8037-2765-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
Another uproarious romp that explores what it is to be good as well as do good.
The foursome of reformed villains returns with a new mission and new team member in a continued effort to repair their reputations in Blabey's (The Bad Guys, 2017) rollicking sequel.
This second installment opens with our would-be heroes, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Mr. Shark, and Mr. Piranha, fresh from their bold liberation of the local pound, finding that the media is not spinning in their favor. Accused of terrorizing rather than rescuing, the group (at least Mr. Wolf) refuses to admit defeat—"We're the GOOD GUYS here!"—and begins planning a new mission to free innocent chickens from their deplorable confinement in the Sunnyside Chicken Farm. But if the team can't work together—something all the more difficult with the team a little panicked by the addition of Legs (a friendly, tech-genius tarantula) and one of the group suspiciously excited to greet the chickens—a rescue mission may be all but impossible. Despite some language devaluing of mental diversity (“freak out,” “loco,” etc.) that may turn some readers off, Blabey once again deploys moral ambiguity to overall success, challenging fear as a justification for prejudice and mistakes as reasons to give up. The narrative has lost no comic momentum from first to second book, juxtaposing classic riffs on Mission Impossible and new visual gags unique to these delightfully wry characters.
Another uproarious romp that explores what it is to be good as well as do good. (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-91241-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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