adapted by Jim Aylesworth & illustrated by Barbara McClintock ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2003
Though not straying as far from standard versions as Diane Stanley’s Goldie and the Three Bears (p. 1024), this new rendition gives the classic tale a fresh shot of charm. Sounding like a rather maternal storyteller—“Straight away, she saw those porridge bowls on the kitchen table. And mmm, yes! That porridge smelled so delicious that I’m afraid she forgot that her mother had told her not to touch other people’s food . . .”—Aylesworth sends the good-but-impulsive Goldilocks through the back door of a “curious little house” as its ursine residents stroll out the front. Later, when they wake her from her nap, she remembers her mother’s admonition never to talk to strangers, dashes away, and “never ever forgot not to do what her mother told her not to do ever, ever, ever again.” Featuring a pretty, pinafore-clad child whose mobile features express exaggerated looks of disgust or delight, McClintock’s finely detailed illustrations have a 19th-century feel, classic but not stiffly formal. A witty alternative to Paul Galdone’s primal version (1972). (source note). (Picture book/folk tale. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-439-39545-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2003
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by Kwame Alexander & illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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by Kwame Alexander & Deanna Nikaido ; illustrated by Melissa Sweet
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by Kwame Alexander ; illustrated by Dare Coulter
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by Joy Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999
Bishop’s spectacular photographs of the tiny red-eyed tree frog defeat an incidental text from Cowley (Singing Down the Rain, 1997, etc.). The frog, only two inches long, is enormous in this title; it appears along with other nocturnal residents of the rain forests of Central America, including the iguana, ant, katydid, caterpillar, and moth. In a final section, Cowley explains how small the frog is and aspects of its life cycle. The main text, however, is an afterthought to dramatic events in the photos, e.g., “But the red-eyed tree frog has been asleep all day. It wakes up hungry. What will it eat? Here is an iguana. Frogs do not eat iguanas.” Accompanying an astonishing photograph of the tree frog leaping away from a boa snake are three lines (“The snake flicks its tongue. It tastes frog in the air. Look out, frog!”) that neither advance nor complement the action. The layout employs pale and deep green pages and typeface, and large jewel-like photographs in which green and red dominate. The combination of such visually sophisticated pages and simplistic captions make this a top-heavy, unsatisfying title. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-87175-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
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by Joy Cowley ; illustrated by Giselle Clarkson
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by Joy Cowley ; illustrated by Kimberly Andrews
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by Hye-Eun Shin ; illustrated by Su-Bi Jeong ; edited by Joy Cowley
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