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WHAT’S SO SCARY?

Name: WHAT’S SO SCARY?
Author: John Stadler
ISBN: 0-531-30301-2

by John Stadler & illustrated by John Stadler ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2001

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
WILSON AND MISS LOVELY
by John Stadler & illustrated by John Stadler

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BALLAD OF WILBUR AND THE MOOSE
by John Stadler & illustrated by John Stadler

- BOOK REVIEW
CATILDA
by John Stadler & illustrated by John Stadler

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
A BOOK OF LOVES
by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Cynthia Rylant

- BOOK REVIEW
HORNBEAM BY AND LARGE
by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Arthur Howard

- BOOK REVIEW
HORNBEAM GETS IT DONE
by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Arthur Howard

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BIG CHICKENS

by Leslie Helakoski & illustrated by Henry Cole ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2006

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With wordplay reminiscent of Margie Palatini at her best, Helakoski takes four timorous chickens into, then out of, the literal and figurative woods. Fleeing the henhouse after catching sight of a wolf, the pusillanimous pullets come to a deep ditch: “ ‘What if we can’t jump that far?’ ‘What if we fall in the ditch?’ ‘What if we get sucked into the mud?’ The chickens tutted, putted, and flutted. They butted into themselves and each other, until one by one . . . ” they do fall in. But then they pick themselves up and struggle out. Ensuing encounters with cows and a lake furnish similar responses and outcomes; ultimately they tumble into the wolf’s very cave, where they “picked, pecked, and pocked. They ruffled, puffled, and shuffled. They shrieked, squeaked, and freaked, until . . . ” their nemesis scampers away in panic. Fluttering about in pop-eyed terror, the portly, partly clothed hens make comical figures in Cole’s sunny cartoons (as does the flummoxed wolf)—but the genuine triumph in their final strut—“ ‘I am a big, brave chicken,’ said one chicken. ‘Ohh . . . ’ said the others. ‘Me too.’ ‘Me three.’ ‘Me four’ ”—brings this tribute to chicken power to a rousing close. (Picture book. 6-8)