Sisters Harper and duPont team up once again (I’m Not Going to Chase the Cat Today!, 2000) to create a stridently silly tale to tickle funnybones. A cacophonous ruckus emanating from a young girl’s room leads her mother to ponder what exactly is going on behind that closed door. Relayed in jaunty rhymes, parent, canine, and even the infant twins provide a hilarious commentary on the root cause of all that uproar. The absurdities escalate, as each new suggestion is more outrageous than the last: dancing bears, hopping hippos, and playful gorillas are all offered up as plausible sources. “Sounds like a rodeo right upstairs. Or a bunch of rhinos playing musical chairs!” However, when Nora’s mother, unable to stand the suspense any longer, asks her what’s going on, a demure Nora offers that classic response: “Oh, nothing.” And the picture shows all of those possible culprits in their stuffed forms. The format of this romp is more akin to a comic strip than a traditional picture book, with the text contained within thought bubbles above various characters’ heads. DuPont’s wacky illustrations suit the offbeat tale and free-spirited Nora just fine; amidst pictures of two-stepping elephants and waltzing behemoths, a gleeful Nora can be discovered cutting loose. Loads of fun to read aloud—the text and art just beg for exaggerated theatrics on the reader’s part: this is one rollicking ride. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: June 30, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-029136-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2001
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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