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WEIRD STORIES FROM THE LONESOME CAFE

Name: WEIRD STORIES FROM THE LONESOME CAFE
Author: Judy Cox
ISBN: 0-15-202134-5

by Judy Cox & illustrated by Diane Kidd ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2000

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The “Help Wanted” sign in a cafe window draws some unusual applicants in this breezy, tongue-in-cheek middle reader from the author of Mean Mean Maureen Green (1999). As proprietor/struggling writer Uncle Clem insists that nothing worth noting ever happens along their stretch of Nevada road, young Sam serves up a peanut-butter/fried-banana/bacon sandwich to a man with a pink Cadillac and blue suede shoes (“ ‘Thank you,’ drawled the man. ‘Thank you very much.’ ”) and a vanilla shake to a jolly vacationer from way up north (“Red cheeks: check. White beard: check. Round little belly: check. No. It couldn't be!”). Then an oversized dust devil delivers a girl with a dog (“ ‘I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.’ ”) and helps rescue a small green traveler from a—vehicle—that crashes nearby (“ ‘Can't understand a word he says,’ said Uncle Clem. ‘Must be from out of state.’ ”) And these aren't the only visitors. Kidd supplies a generous array of vignettes and full-page cartoons, adding both fun and visual clues to the identities of these new employees. Though the Lonesome Cafe can't match Cynthia Rylant's Van Gogh Cafe (1995) for marvelous goingson, this will be a hit with young children, as well as reluctant readers old enough to twig to the cultural references. (Fiction. 7-9)

Pub Date: April 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-15-202134-5

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2000

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

- BOOK REVIEW
SHEEP WON'T SLEEP
by Judy Cox ; illustrated by Nina Cuneo

- BOOK REVIEW
SNOW DAY FOR MOUSE
by Judy Cox & illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler

- BOOK REVIEW
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MRS. MILLIE!
by Judy Cox & illustrated by Joe Mathieu

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TRAVEL TALES

TEN FUN-FILLED ADVENTURES

by Christophe Blain & illustrated by Christophe Blain & translated by Toula Ballas ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1998

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Showcasing their talents and styles, ten young European artists send characters on brief, quirky journeys, in play or dreams: Houdart, in the first story, shows how Louise and Pierre add wheels and wings to the sofa and take off; Florence Pinel’s Ludo and Remi use different means of transportation to arrive at the same place; GÇraldine Goudard’s Pipolito goes—from his bed—to the North Pole, then the Wild West, then mixes the two (“I built an igloo saloon”); and more. With the exception of Jacques Duquennoy’s “Zoe’s Ark,” the paintings and collages are busy affairs, with tiny or hazy figures in postmodern compositions. As in the work of Peter S°s or Maira Kalman, the story lines will be easier for children to appreciate than the art, while older readers whose interest is piqued by these experiments will yearn for biographical or bibliographical notes. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-8109-3895-2

Page Count: 79

Publisher: Abrams

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

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TED

by Tony DiTerlizzi & illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2001

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A more-or-less imaginary friend brings a lonely boy and his distracted father together in this heavy-handed but slapstick romp from the author/illustrator of Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-This-World Moon Pie Adventure (2000). Looking like a cross between a flop-eared John Goodman and Jabba the Hut, Ted saunters into the unnamed young narrator's life, and proceeds to instigate more chaos than the Cat in the Hat ever dreamed of. After helping to spatter the bathroom with shaving cream, "illustrate" the living-room walls, and create an indoor swimming pool in the study, Ted retreats from Dad's wrath to a nearby playground. The boy soon follows, to wonder why grownups have forgotten to have fun, and to learn that Ted was his father's playmate too, years ago. In due time, Dad shows up, and with the help of an old toy dredges up half-forgotten memories—after which all go back home for "one mean game of space-pirates-Monopoly-Twister!" Owing equal debts to Norman Rockwell and Mad Magazine, DiTerlizzi's polished, carefully detailed illustrations feature nerdy-looking humans and wild swirls of domestic disaster, with Ted, invisible to Dad but looking just as solid and real, mugging hugely and providing a mottled, pink focal point. It's not exactly subtle, but children may find its exaggerations appealing. (Picture book. 7-9)