Stark and his brother Phil make the most of their straitened circumstances in this memoir of growing up in the Midwest during the 1950s. The boys were happy to move to the country from their house in town, even if the one in town “did have a bathroom.” They “couldn’t afford extra stuff like a phone, car, or TV,” but they did have the hen house roof to jump from, a hill of corncobs to wrestle atop in the autumn, plenty of snow, lightning storms that raised the hair on their necks, as well as books and magazines, the radio, stuff to draw with, and even an occasional offering from the ice-cream man. In short, they had their imagination and a bunch of raw materials with which to keep them not simply occupied, but alive, mind and soul. They also had their curiosity, like how that old wringer washer worked and what would happen if you stuck your finger in the rollers. The story will come as a surprise to many readers, an alien life form with its lack of material comforts, its slow pacing, and a ten-year-old figuring “we were big enough to mow the yard so Mom wouldn’t have to pay someone.” But Stark refuses to grind the poorness of his family in the reader’s face nor traffic in easy sentiments. His scenes are Norman Rockwell–Americana, his palette ripe with color and adventure. A chewy contribution that ought to turn the heads of a few young readers. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-399-23766-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2003
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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