Dinah is a tiny cat when she comes to live with her family, that is, until each one secretly feeds her tidbits and she becomes a very big cat, bigger than any other cat—except Dinah doesn’t know she’s a cat! Instead, she’s Father’s princess, Mother’s baby, and Boy’s friend. Dinah has never been outdoors and one day, as she tries to see out, she falls through the window and rolls far from home. As Dinah tries to get home, an old lady thinks she’s a raccoon, a fruit vendor thinks she’s a runaway watermelon (a hairy one), and a shepherd thinks she’s a fat little tiger trying to eat her sheep. When Dinah meets up with a dog, he informs her that she’s a cat and tries to attack her. Running away, Dinah wonders who she really is until she hears her family’s familiar voices calling her home. Broad-stroked watercolor illustrations comically depict the very roly-poly, orange-striped cat, keeping Dinah’s adventure humorous rather than scary for young readers. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: April 19, 2004
ISBN: 0-618-33612-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In a familiar situation, a child seeks his mother’s attention. “Not right now, dear. In just a minute,” she replies. The family in question is a pig family; the mother hangs laundry, waters plants, peels potatoes, and so on until she is finally ready. She finds that her small charge has wrecked the house, a process readers have witnessed. She calls him and calls him, and finds him in the tub, overflowing and causing a ceiling leak. “I’ll be done in just a minute,” he says, a line meant to turn the tables. Preschoolers may appreciate this the first time through, but the acts of destruction and disruption of the little pig will have adults shaking their heads. Worse yet, it looks as if the child is going to get away with it. A one-joke book that falters between the premise and the punch line. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: April 30, 1998
ISBN: 1-886910-29-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lemniscaat/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1998
paper 0-14-130270-4 In this breezy entry in the Easy-to-Read series, Turtle and Snake rise from their different beds and go to work, the former as a crossing guard, the latter in a pizza parlor. Spohn (Dog and Cat Make a Splash, 1997, etc.) sticks to short, sometimes repetitive sentences and phrases, and keeps the art simple and uncluttered. The plots involving the two friends are very basic, building to twin climaxes. After work, the friends unwind over a pizza and walk home. It’s a good discussion starter on the theme of work, and children will chuckle over Snake’s “no hands” pizza technique. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-88258-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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