Flattened once more, this time not by a falling bulletin board but a double blow to his elusive “Osteal Balance Point”—or so says family GP Dr. Dan—Stanley Lambchop gets two more chances to play the hero before popping back into shape. First he becomes a human spinnaker in a sailboat race, then he worms his way through the wreckage of a collapsed building to rescue ever-rude classmate Emma Weeks. Alluding to previous episodes, Stanley complains, “Why me? Why am I always getting flat, or invisible, or something?” Mr. Lambchop replies, “But things often happen without there seeming to be a reason, and then something else happens, and suddenly the first thing seems to have had a purpose after all.” Perhaps—even if that purpose is just to tread water, as Brown does here. Still, with its cartoon illustrations, well-leaded text and general goofiness, this retread is as likely to draw transitional readers as the perennial favorite Flat Stanley (1964) and its sequels. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-06-009551-2
Page Count: 96
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2003
The young protagonist of Bye, Mis’ Lela (1998) returns, faced this time with a scary mission. Her daddy is working in far- off New York City, so Sugar Plum must run through the dark woods for the midwife when her mother goes into labor. Anxious and reluctant, unsure of what is happening to Mama, Sugar Plum nonetheless screws up her courage, then races down a “moon- bright road,” crawls over a rickety bridge, and delivers her message. Illuminated with intense blues and greens, the shadows themselves glow in Stevenson’s vibrant paintings; solid, sturdy human figures move through scenes in which every surface seems to shimmer with color. The next morning, Sugar Plum bounds confidently home and finds herself with a new baby brother. Her mother tells Sugar Plum that she’s old enough to be called from now on by her real name, Wilhe’mina. Although in several respects this is reminiscent of Bill Martin’s The Ghost Eye Tree (1985), Carter’s story features not only a more important errand but more fully developed characters. In a final wordless scene, the father is reunited with his family, contributing further to the satisfying conclusion. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: March 31, 1999
ISBN: 0-374-33551-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Matching a text first published over 60 years ago (and adapted here) with vibrant new illustrations, this brief import from the Philippines offers a moving tale of one family’s memorial to their lost ones. Marcelina and her six brothers and sisters welcome their father home from a business trip. As promised, he brings gifts: hand-woven sleeping mats “for every one of the family.” After the living receive theirs, three mats remain, one for each of the siblings who died young. Alägrä’s art is done in a muralistic style, with simple, monumental forms, stylized facial features, and bright, boldly contrasting colors. The language is sometimes awkward—“Papa’s face was filled with a long-bewildered sorrow”—but the emotions are strong and real. The story’s brevity makes it a promising discussion-starter, and the idea that “They may be dead but they are never really gone” is presented without excess sentimentality. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-916291-86-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
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