There may be no new ground broken, but there is still another bumper crop of fun to be had with these two BFFs.
Fans of Bink and Gollie will be pleased to welcome them back in three more humorous linked adventures that, as in their earlier appearances, play off their differences but ultimately affirm their mutual affection.
First, Gollie has dreams of grandeur that don’t impress Bink a bit—and don’t quite work out as she hopes. Next, Bink succumbs to the siren song of an advertisement for an unusual device that promises to make her grow. It succeeds, after a fashion, but doesn’t actually change the status quo. Finally, the two girls seek fame and glory through (relatively) traditional means but wind up deciding to use a different measure of success when their plans don’t pan out. At the end, of course, they discover what readers already know: Friendship is the best prize of all. Fucile’s digital artwork extends both the humor and the broad appeal. With wide-eyed, smiling characters, crisp black outlines and exaggerated details, they’re reminiscent of (really good) old-fashioned Saturday-morning cartoons. They also offer lots of entertaining elements to linger over, including visual references to earlier exploits, clever use of color to keep the focus clearly on the two main characters and sly jokes to supplement the amusing wordplay.
There may be no new ground broken, but there is still another bumper crop of fun to be had with these two BFFs. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: April 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3497-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
Veiled in humor, but hard not to read as a parable that tweaks narrow minds and parochial attitudes.
A newly moved-in family with a different lifestyle gets a hostile reception from the oh-so-respectable neighbors.
Most of them, anyway. As in a dream come true, dazzled young Matilda welcomes Jim Lad, who “had no shoes, an eye patch, and a wooden-legged dog… / a pirate ship with treasure chests and barrels full of grog!” The arrival of Jim’s family in aptly named Dull-on-Sea is more of a nightmare for Matilda’s parents and the other adults though, who complain vociferously, spread rumors (“They never wash. / Their kids have lice. / They also just don’t smell that nice.”), and petition Town Hall for an eviction. “Before you know it, there’ll be more—we’ll all have pirates right next door!” Rendering every detail with concrete exactitude, Duddle (Pirate Cruncher, 2010) depicts Matilda and the pirates having wild pirate fun as comically dismayed townies huddle and recoil. No worries: the Jolley-Rogers are only ashore temporarily to make some repairs, and one morning they’re gone—leaving large X’s in everyone’s yard marking, as a double gatefold reveals, buried chests of treasure to show that “pirates aren’t so bad.”
Veiled in humor, but hard not to read as a parable that tweaks narrow minds and parochial attitudes. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5842-7
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A vitriolic screed against rude, selfish, nasty children—sufficiently overdone to indicate that it’s at least partly in fun.
Retro, James Flora–style illustrations depict scenes of small children misbehaving and adults (or, in one scene, zoo animals) sobbing histrionically. Cuvellier’s accompanying narrative, translated from French, inveighs against children who throw tantrums, won’t share toys, bite and otherwise harass others or even just play hard to get when a parental cuddle is offered. The offenses tallied proceed to turn from mean to liberating. A child throws creamed spinach on the floor; another paints everything in sight rather than staying inside the line; a third—a young musician—plays piano not with “ten tiny fingers” but “with her feet, her elbows, her teddy and her bottom.” Mozart would (does, in the picture) weep, but then, he’s only 5. Apparently even adults can misbehave, as a family portrait turns into equal-opportunity mischief-making. Children supposedly turn “lovely” at bedtime though, and in the final scene, a young sleeper lies, smiling angelically—dreaming of bloody death and violence. “Children are naughty. Parents are nice. And that is that!” Right. Young readers and listeners will grow dizzy from shaking their heads in mock dismay. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-909263-26-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2014
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