A zany, comedic fairy tale with a contemporary twist.
Surprises abound and social conventions turn upside down in debut author Gribble’s wacky, lighthearted riff on the fairy-tale tradition.
Intelligent, kindhearted Katy is an ordinary girl with a decidedly improper penchant for chewing gum. Her parents have never been thrilled with her bubble-gum fixation, so when the family is invited to celebrate Prince Will’s birthday, she is forced to quit her unseemly habit before the ball. She’s melancholy about the prospect of relinquishing her bubble gum, but she resolves to give it up before the party. On the night of the ball, everything seems poised for a perfect royal evening, but when a forbidden bubble materializes just as Katy is curtsying to the queen, no one will believe that she wasn’t the culprit. Displeased by this breach in decorum, the queen is ready to banish Katy from the kingdom, until a surprising new friend appears, and Katy remains stubbornly devoted to her bubble gum. This tongue-in-cheek, quirky picture book seems to revel in its elevated vocabulary and punchy, unpatterned rhyme, although the use of wordplay and alliteration sometimes sounds forced and excessive. The cartoonish, pastel illustrations are a perfect complement to the text, with bright shades of magenta and endearing animals on nearly every page. References to the royal family occur throughout, from the irreverent illustrations to the playful depiction of the queen’s corgis, though it’s hard to pinpoint the exact meaning of the satire, if there is one. It’s difficult to become fully invested in the decidedly trivial conflict, but the book offers enough fun and modern-day appeal to intrigue young readers anyway. The plot and premise may be bizarre, but the silly, upbeat plot twists make this a delightful book to read aloud to wannabe princesses and royal enthusiasts alike.
A zany, comedic fairy tale with a contemporary twist.Pub Date: July 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0989091404
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NY Media Works
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2013
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
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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