Multiple Edgar Award–winning Nixon plunges her penguin sleuths (Gus & Gertie and the Missing Pearl, 2000) into a chilly new case. Clad in complementary flowered, rubber swim caps, Gus and Gertie make their way through a tent crowded with feathered and furred athletes to register for the Animal Winter Olympics—only to discover that synchronized swimming is not a winter event. Worse yet, Gertie’s lucky fish pin vanishes in the hubbub—as do all of the contenders’ lucky charms. Sharp-eyed camera bug Gus fingers (okay, flippers) the culprits—a pair of pack rats named Mugs and Thugs—thanks to a set of revealing Polaroids, then joins Gertie in a wild chase down snow-covered slopes to recover the loot. Not only are deGroat’s brightly colored illustrations just as action-packed as the plot, but she strews them with visual clues for alert young detectives to pick out. Gus and Gertie may not achieve their Olympian dream, but they’ll give Nate the Great, or Cam Jansen, a run for their money any day. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-58717-099-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: SeaStar/North-South
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2001
Offering brain-teasers for the younger set, Spires and Blegvad follow up With One White Wing (1995) with 26 charming riddles. Whether reading or listening, children will find clues’some large and clear, some hidden—in the lively illustrations as well as in the text; the solution always appears at the bottom of the page, upside down. The scope—from obvious to difficult—will satisfy a wide range of children, although a few riddles presume background knowledge that very young children may not have. Spires repeats words and phrases often, allowing readers the chance to become familiar with new words and spelling patterns. The game-like quality of the book demands attention to meaning, however, and helps children have fun actively reading not only words but picture as they guess solutions to the riddles. An artful and accessible addition to the beginning reader domain. (Poetry. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-689-81783-5
Page Count: 26
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1999
PLB 0-531-33137-7 At night, everyone in the family from the father to the dog is tuckered out, but when Uncle starts to tune his fiddle, toes start tapping and hands begin clapping. The energy of music will fuel the imaginations of those who loved Gray’s My Mama Had a Dancing Heart (1995). Exhilarating nonsense phrases reproduce the sounds of this bluegrass band: “Pick-a-pluck-a-plum” sings Miss Essie’s banjo; “Shu-sha-shu/Rick-a-rack-a-MEW!” is the sound of square dancers gliding around the room, while a cat dodges among their feet. The music brings the whole valley to life as the neighbors join in, and by the time everyone leaves, the big full moon is peeking over the hill. Bloom’s gentle illustrations conjure up the soft nights of early summer, the air scented with flowering trees and ringing with tunes. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30137-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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