A children’s tale that veers toward the sugary side, but the ups and downs of an anthropomorphic fire engine are...
A once-beloved fire engine regains a town’s affection in this picture book for lap readers.
When the town of Someport-by-the-Sea buys a new fire engine—bright, red Reddy with his big, red water tank—residents young and old (all depicted as Caucasian) are delighted. Helpful Reddy makes the town proud; he receives accolades wherever he goes. But after leading his first Independence Day parade, Reddy loses his luster, and admiration shifts to new acquisitions, including a snowplow and a road grader. The truck is renamed Rusty and eventually relegated to the end of the parade. How Rusty reclaims the townspeople’s hearts involves a hot summer day, an old friend, and a surprise repurposing of Rusty’s water tank. Adults may find the narrative a bit precious at times (the ladders go “Up Up Uppity-up”; the firehouse dog goes “Bark Bark Barkity-bark”), but Fisher’s (The Next Breath, 2014, etc.) prose invites empathy, as does illustrator Boswell’s understated suggestion of a face in Rusty’s grille and headlights. The author’s observations on the fickleness of fame come through with appropriate humor and heart, and the small illustrations are pleasantly rendered against ample negative space.
A children’s tale that veers toward the sugary side, but the ups and downs of an anthropomorphic fire engine are sympathetically portrayed.Pub Date: May 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9905678-1-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Angler Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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