McElmurry (The Kettles Get New Clothes, p. 952, etc.) explores the fertile territory of the messes to be found in juvenile bedrooms, as well as the psychologically messy province of competitive siblings. Hannah and Hilary are identical red-headed twins who share a bedroom, feuding because Hannah is neat and organized and Hilary is hopelessly messy and downright dirty, with heaps of junk on her side of the room that include pizza crusts and dirty socks. The trash piles mysteriously produce two unusual pets, a dog-like imaginary creature named Mr. Peel for Hilary and an extra-long-tailed cat named Tip-Top for Hannah. In the strongest part of the story, the girls and their “mess pets” descend into the underworld that exists beneath messy rooms, with several humorous spreads showing map-like illustrations of fantastical formations such as Hairy Hairbrush Lane, Spilled Milk Lagoon, and Dust Bunny Mountain (complete with sneezing rabbits). When Hannah and Hilary hear their own arguments replayed by their bickering pets, they realize that compromise is in order, and a group rapprochement is achieved with a wallow in a huge banana split. The partially rhyming text is unevenly paced and the rapid transitions between the real world and the underworld are at first a little confusing, but the glories of this messy realm shouldn’t be missed. Both kids and parents on opposite sides of the clean-your-room divide will enjoy the busy details of Mess World. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-58717-174-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: SeaStar/North-South
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Turkey’s in the “kind of trouble where it’s almost Thanksgiving...and you’re the main course.” Accordingly, Turkey tries on disguise after disguise, from horse to cow to pig to sheep, at each iteration being told that he looks nothing like the animal he’s trying to mimic (which is quite true, as Harper’s quirky watercolors make crystal clear). He desperately squeezes a red rubber glove onto his head to pass as a rooster, only to overhear the farmer suggest a poultry plan B when he’s unable to turn up the turkey. Turkey’s horrified expression as he stands among the peppers and tomatoes—in November? Chalk it up to artistic license—is priceless, but his surroundings give him an idea. Good fun, but it may lead to a vegetarian table or two. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5529-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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