A stylish, retro addition to the seek-and-find genre.
The indefatigable helper introduced in Mr Tweed’s Good Deeds (2014) continues his worthy work.
It seems that the jazz band Mr Tweed—a dapper dog sporting a monumentally tall top hat—has come to the zoo to hear has scattered about the grounds. So off he goes to spot (with readers’ help, natch) guitar player Pinky Jackson among a crowd of fellow flamingos, Mary Lou Lemur and her saxophone lurking in the dense Lost Forest, trombonist Otis O’Rangutan, and seven more animal performers in time for the show. Reminiscent of Peter Max’s psychedelic-era fancies for color, style, and surreal sensibility, Stoten’s busy but not overwhelming zoo scenes are thronged with a mix of clothed animals and human visitors of diverse age and skin color. The search concludes at last in the bustling gift shop (which doubles as a performance space), and the regathered band salutes Mr Tweed as he strolls off to, no doubt, more good deeds.
A stylish, retro addition to the seek-and-find genre. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-911171-29-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
Confronted with failure followed by success, a jaunty spider puts honor before fame. With his gladiator name, Spartacus should be destined for greatness, but his weak threads and droopy webs make him the laughing stock of escaping flies and moths. Humiliated and hungry, a confounded Spartacus gets a helpful tip from a mouse and soon spins the strongest threads into unbreakable webs. But what if his web traps all the flies, moths, birds and even airplanes—forever? Faced with such daunting consequences, Spartacus decides his "old, loppy threads" may be just fine. Appropriately armed with gladiator helmet, shield and spear, Spartacus tells his story in the first person as he casts silken threads and weaves floppy webs across double-page spreads. Delicate watercolor-and-pencil illustrations in muted browns and grays rely on simple shapes, white space, arresting angles and surprising close-ups to provide a spider's-eye peek at Spartacus and his diminutive engineering feats. Readers should enjoy this eight-legged hero who succeeds by being himself—if they can get over being worried about how he will feed himself. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-56846-213-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Creative Company
Review Posted Online: Dec. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010
Still called “Toddie” (though now he looks more like a preschoolah), the Bunyanesqe Mainer first met in The Wicked Big Toddlah (2007) tours the Big Apple—both with and without his normal-sized parents. Awed by the city’s scale even though he himself is tall enough to brush Grand Central Station’s starry ceiling, Toddie enjoys a Yankees game (“HOMAAH!”) but loses his parents when the train they are on pulls out during a moment of distraction. He suffers momentary pangs but then enjoys an afternoon playing in Central Park and environs with ant-sized fellow urchins. At last he does the King Kong thing to find his errant custodians (who get all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge before they realize they have lost their towering son). The next morning he wades out to the Statue of Liberty before taking a seat on (literally) the train home. Hawkes decks his gargantuan tourist out in loud summer casuals topped by a red buffalo-plaid wool cap, surrounds him with crowds that take even less notice of him than his parents do and finishes off the lark with a bit of goofery as Toddie is forced to return a certain oversized “souvenir.” A memorable excursion for city residents and would-be tourists alike. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: April 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-375-86188-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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