Harvey Potter owns a genuine US Government Inspected balloon farm where he grows balloons to order: clowns, animals, monsters for Halloween, and even—when the young narrator who has been delightedly watching the crops gets old enough to strike out on her own—a huge floater to carry her off. What's his secret? Since he farms at night, no one knows. Nolen's writing has an oral lilt to it; Buehner (Adventures of Taxi Dog, etc.) depicts Potter's unique crop in jellybean colors, bobbing atop cornstalks in businesslike rows. A wonderfully appealing premise, skillfully developed. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-688-07887-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1994
A nonsense rhyme celebrates a joyous older neighbor. Every morning, Leonora steps outside to water bulging bags of ``Popcorn from Paraguay/Snakeskins from Spain/A buffalo's toothbrush/A tube full of rain'' and other found materials; at night she dances in the city park across the street (``She's the moon shadow's daughter/The old statue's wife./And together they tango...'') until—on some summer nights—she falls asleep on a park bench. In Cornell's exuberant art, energetic dots and dashes define tumbled shapes in splashes of color as, trailed by the admiring young narrator, gray-haired Leonora grins cheerfully at the world and pushes a shopping cart exploding with tangles of bric-a-brac. A childlike tribute with no hint of the darker side connoted by Leonora's free-spiritedness. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 30, 1992
ISBN: 0-06-021766-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Granddad's yarns of bear chasing and rattlesnake wrassling come back to haunt him when Grandma shoos him and Jesse out of the house, archly suggesting that they hunt up a snake for dinner. Kastner bases her tale on memories of hiking the Tennessee mountains with her grandfather; her dappled, impressionistic watercolors capture the late summer woods perfectly. Tension mounts as a huge rattler, painted in dark, menacing colors, looms in Jesse's mind's eye—until a sudden breeze rattles leaves and sends her and Grandad leaping back. Sitting on a log to collect themselves, they don't notice the snake quietly coiled at its base, but agree that it's time to head home. A deftly comic tale, with the girl and her granddad sharing their apprehension and relief. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1993
ISBN: 0-02-749395-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Four Winds/MacMillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1993
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