by Kate De Goldi & illustrated by Jacqui Colley ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2008
“The clubs epidemic breaks out in March like a giant nit plague. It spreads through our class ’til practically everyone’s infected.” So reports young journal-writer Lorenza (“but you’d better call me Lolly, or there’ll be big trouble”) Leopold, as she launches into chatty descriptions of the Barbie Club, the Kitten Club, the Lego Club and the Harry Potter Club. Why is she telling this story? Because her tattooed and adored teacher Ms. Love has promised to play the trumpet on Grandparents Day as a reward. Backed by garish, splashy watercolor portraits and spread-filling flights of fancy, Lolly’s lengthy but legibly hand-lettered commentary on her cliquish classmates will find a ready audience in fans of Marissa Moss’s Amelia productions. A companion, Billy (ISBN: 978-1-74114-892-3), is also out. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-74114-891-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2008
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by Kate De Goldi ; illustrated by Gregory O'Brien
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by Ruth Freeman Swain ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 1999
Children, to whom the questions of where and how people sleep are so important, will snuggle right up to this fascinating study of “beds.” Swain compares bedtime customs from around the world and through history, covering hammocks, berths, sleeping bags, cradles, and more; she addresses sleeping in zero gravity, and napping while hanging from a rope on a mountain climbing expedition. The historical tidbits will intrigue, too: that families of the Middle Ages slept together in the same bed (without clothes!); that ancient Egyptians depended on mosquito netting to get some shut-eye; that Chinese children had animal-shaped pillows with big eyes, to watch out for them at night. Swain’s text is conversational and fairly inclusive, while Smith’s illustrations keep the bluster out of the subject by providing plenty of humor. Children will be up all night poring over her scenes, which are packed with informative details, settings, and props. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1444-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999
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by Ruth Freeman Swain & illustrated by John O’Brien
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by Ruth Freeman Swain & illustrated by John O’Brien
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by Ruth Freeman Swain & illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith
by Berlie Doherty ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999
Bartlett doesn’t allow readers not to like her artwork, with the brio and dash of her thick colors and the instant appeal of her characters’ faces. The same applies to Doherty’s trim little story, which is full of enjoyable word play. Paddiwak, a cat and “a heartthrob (quite a snob), very smart in his neat black suit,” rules his roost until the day, that “terrible day,” when Sally brings home another cat, and what a cat: “A laugh of a cat, a dumpling cat with a black bit here and a white bit there, floppy round the tummy and great big paws.” Paddiwak takes grave offense, hisses, and leaves, huffing that he will never return. The new cat explores timidly, while Paddiwak stews outside. Just when the new cat is feeling really lonely and blue, the dark and the rain suggest to Paddiwak that he end his self-imposed exile. He is sodden and rumpled as he sneaks into a favorite den and finds “something as cuddly as a cushion to lay his head on.” That’s the new cat, now called Cozy, and so is the story, where a cat can act like a fool without being condemned as one, as long as he knows when to come in out of the rain. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30180-X
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1999
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by Berlie Doherty and illustrated by Lesley Harker
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adapted by Berlie Doherty & illustrated by Ian Beck
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