Nolen and Nelson offer a smaller, but no less gifted counterpart to Big Jabe (2000) in this new tall tale. Shortly after being born one stormy night, Rose thanks her parents, picks a name, and gathers lightning into a ball—all of which is only a harbinger of feats to come. Decked out in full cowboy gear and oozing self-confidence from every pore, Rose cuts a diminutive, but heroic figure in Nelson’s big, broad Western scenes. Though she carries a twisted iron rod as dark as her skin and ropes clouds with fencing wire, Rose overcomes her greatest challenge—a pair of rampaging twisters—not with strength, but with a lullaby her parents sang. After turning tornadoes into much-needed rain clouds, Rose rides away, “that mighty, mighty song pressing on the bull’s-eye that was set at the center of her heart.” Throughout, she shows a reflective bent that gives her more dimension than most tall-tale heroes: a doff of the Stetson to her and her creators. (author’s note) (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-15-216472-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Whistle/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003
A stranger opens a surfing supply shop in an inner-city neighborhood, far from the sea. Is he, as the young narrator thinks, ``two bread rolls short of a picnic?'' As ``the Surfman'' laboriously converts an abandoned factory into a giant wave tank, even the local gangs come to watch—and when it's finished, they joyfully declare a truce and buy surfboards. All is well till the wave machine breaks down, gang warfare erupts and damages it further, and the Surfman departs, leaving the narrator wishing he'd paid more attention to how the device worked. Collington illustrates this bleak tale with scenes of gray, sterile streets where empty windows look down on tiny human figures, with surfboards as the only spots of color. It would be interesting to contrast this somber parable with Eve Bunting's more optimistic Summer Wheels (1992), about another neighborhood peacemaker. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: Jan. 3, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-84721-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
The Masked Maverick may be able to beat Hammerhand Hannibal, Mad Dog Markowitz, and every other wrestler in the ring, but he can't win over the crowds who boo his every victory—until the Brooklyn Bonecrusher tears off his mask to reveal features so inoffensive that the spectators have a change of heart. Ogburn pokes fun at an easy target, but it's affectionate fun—she's obviously a fan. Carlson's awkward wrestlers have a flabby, low- budget look more common in bygone years; she leaves readers to guess the actual nature of some of the Maverick's techniques (the ``Boston crab pin''; the ``airplane spin''). A mismatch; still, an unusual milieu for a picture book story. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-688-11049-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1994
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
