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THE OWL WHO WAS AFRAID OF THE DARK

Name: THE OWL WHO WAS AFRAID OF THE DARK
Author: Jill Tomlinson
ISBN: 0-7636-1562-5

by Jill Tomlinson & illustrated by Paul Howard ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2001

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New color illustrations introduce an English classic about a small barn owl—unfortunately and inexplicably named “Plop”—who learns to love the dark. At his mother’s suggestion, Plop, who thinks the dark is scary, asks various people about it. Each (among them a boy, a scout, and an astronomer) gives him a personal reason for appreciating the night. At last, a black cat leads him away from his sleeping parents to the rooftops where, looking over the sleeping town, Plop realizes that the night really is beautiful, and that he really is a night bird. The full-page pastel illustrations are full of rich night hues of deep blue skies, light, and shadow, and smaller sketches on alternate pages show the little owl with his new acquaintances. Plop, though a fledged bird, appears smaller and softer than his owl parents and is a thoroughly endearing creature in these pictures, and the art carries the story over several weak spots. In one of Plop’s less convincing encounters, a grandmotherly woman tells him that she likes the dark because it is kind, and she can forget that she is old—an idea more sentimental than true. In another—less universal than the fear of the dark that the tale addresses—a girl tells him that the dark is necessary so that Santa can come and fill the stockings for Christmas Day. But the fireworks that the boy invites Plop to watch are reflected in the big dark eyes of the young barn owl and his parents—a nicely dramatic depiction of the awe that night can hold. Parents and children are likely to overlook some pedestrian moments in the story for the overall reassurance it may bring. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-7636-1562-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE CAT WHO WANTED TO GO HOME
by Jill Tomlinson & illustrated by Paul Howard

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CHOP, SIMMER, SEASON

by Alexa Brandenberg & illustrated by Alexa Brandenberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1997

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From Brandenberg (I Am Me!, 1996), a book of illustrated cooking verbs—one per page—showing two chefs (one of them strongly resembling the author's photo on the jacket flap) preparing the following menu for a tiny, homey restaurant: fresh baked breads, minestrone, tossed salad, grilled trout with harvest vegetables, and three different desserts. Many of the gouache paintings provide close-ups of the chefs' hands sifting, mixing, beating, chopping, seasoning, peeling, or slicing (all by hand—no food processors or electric mixers in this restaurant). The bottom borders show tiny pictures of the ingredients being used: An observant reader who is also an experienced cook could extrapolate recipes from these (e.g., the ``harvest vegetables'' are a sautÇ of red onion, sweet red pepper, zucchini, and yellow squash with olive oil, lemon juice, white wine, thyme, salt, and pepper). An attractive, brightly colored look at an extremely busy dawn-to-dark kitchen, but it's difficult to imagine the book's audience: Preschoolers won't grasp the isolated culinary operations and older readers will want the recipes. Tuck it into story hours on work and careers, and get ready to argue whether salads are tossed before dressing, or after. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-15-200973-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1997

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
BALLERINA FLYING
by Alexa Brandenberg & illustrated by Alexa Brandenberg

- BOOK REVIEW
I AM ME!
by Alexa Brandenberg & illustrated by Alexa Brandenberg

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I'M SICK OF IT!

A MOUSE'S REALITY CHECK

by Vincent Bourgeau & illustrated by Vincent Bourgeau ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 19, 1997

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An artful board-book parable. A small gray mouse, tired of being small, wants to be as enormous, massive, and monstrous as an elephant. He gets a reality check when the cat appears—and being small enough to squeeze through the mouse hole seems a very happy fate indeed. Bourgeau's illustrations are simultaneously simple and sophisticated, immediately accessible and accompanied by a scratchy, eccentric typeface, deployed to good effect, in various sizes and positions on the page. A charming identity crisis, gratifyingly played out; another temporary malcontent can be found in I'm Sick of It: A Fishy Melodrama (0-8431-7925-2). (Board book. 4-6)