An amusing and fantastical look at barnyard goings-on.
A menagerie finds whimsical fun in this illustrated children’s book.
Lavender Hill Farm is quite the happening place, full of eccentric animals and tall tales. From Dooley the Dog and Marcel the Duck to Chickie Mae and Madam Goose, all the occupants of the farm have their own quirky stories to tell. Chickie Mae learns that trying something new won’t kill a chicken when Marcel the Duck brings a jar of olives to the farm and she finally tastes one. Marcel (a very special French duck who’s a pet and allowed in the house) wants to be a chef, and somehow, he makes his very own pizza (but he does need some help). A persuasive pig talks his way into staying at the farmhouse (“I am handsome and charming with a winning smile, and I am very well spoken. I can answer your doorbell”). Madam Goose, bent on planting turnip seeds, experiences a series of misadventures before she’s able to reap what she’s sowed. When it’s harvest time, Madam Goose asks Dooley the Dog to dig up the turnips (“I’m a beagle and that’s what we do. We dig”). Every animal on the farm is unique, which means that all of the stories in the collection are one of a kind as well. Otto (A House for Mr. Mouse, 2014) displays a wonderful knack for the offbeat, and kids should love the imaginative tales in the volume. It’s a little bit Charlotte’s Web, a little bit The Wizard of Oz, and all totally clever. Children should easily find an animal to identify with, be it stubborn Chickie Mae and her single olive or Marcel and his determination to become a chef. Every story comes to a satisfactory ending, which should teach youngsters a series of important lessons. Even adults shouldn’t tire of reading the book as a bedtime story—the tales are varied and smart enough for grown-ups, too. DeLind’s cutout illustrations are also lovely—the work could use even more of them scattered throughout the stories. Another appealing aspect of the book: readers can peruse as much or as little as they like—one tale for a quick waiting-room distraction or perhaps two (or even three) for bedtime. The kids will likely clamor for more.
An amusing and fantastical look at barnyard goings-on.Pub Date: April 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5114-9851-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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