Stadler’s cartoonishly drawn characters escape both disaster and authorial control in this freewheeling romp. After newly-drawn Dog complains that he’s not only alone on his birthday, but in the wrong story (a stiff letter of complaint from the publisher is visible nearby—“This is not the book we agreed on!”) the obliging Author creates a confused herd of companions, then upsets the paint cans, sending all scrambling just ahead of a polychrome tsunami. A series of cliffhangers ensues, as the fugitives stampede over land and water, uttering comments like, “Is this If You Give A Moose A Muffin? I’m here for an audition,” “If we’re really animals, how come we can talk?,” and “Who dresses that guy?” while the Author, or at least his bottom half, is seen struggling along in pursuit. Reaching “The End” (of the scenery, that is), Dog at last takes matters into his own paws, grabbing a brush and painting himself and his buddies into an oversized bed so that they can snuggle down for the sleepover they’re supposed to be having. Readers who laughed at the contrary fairy-tale characters in Allan Ahlberg’s Bravest Bear Ever (2000) will be mightily amused by this too. And for another take on this concept, see Bruce Whatley’s Wait! No Paint (below). (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-531-30301-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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