by Kes Gray & illustrated by Chris Mould ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2004
Lovers of caca-poopoo humor will be in hog heaven with this imported tale of an inventor who takes on Ancient Rome’s pongiest problem. As no one knows what to do with their dung, the city is one big, open sewer—until young Vesuvius Poovius, having tried and discarded various alternatives, invents plumbing: “the Vesuvius Poovius Loovius, or ‘Loo’ for short.” Now, how to get the Emperor and his wife to try it out? Though Mould’s scritch-scratch cartoon scenes feature plenty of clutter but only an occasional glop of goo, Gray’s roiling mix of disgusting Roman cuisine—sheep’s eye dumplings, beetle pizza, and the like—and arch euphemisms (“I did a huge daffodil last night,” a soldier comments) will certainly crank up the sniggers. As chain-pullers go, it could be worse, as there are occasional lumps of cleverness—but delicacy has definitely gone down the tubes. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 15, 2004
ISBN: 0-340-87335-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2004
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by Kes Gray & Claire Gray ; illustrated by Jim Field
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by Kes Gray & illustrated by Lee Wildish
by Chris Van Dusen ; illustrated by Chris Van Dusen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2019
An all-day sugar rush, putting the “fun” back into, er, education.
A young visionary describes his ideal school: “Perfectly planned and impeccably clean. / On a scale, 1 to 10, it’s more like 15!”
In keeping with the self-indulgently fanciful lines of If I Built a Car (2005) and If I Built a House (2012), young Jack outlines in Seussian rhyme a shiny, bright, futuristic facility in which students are swept to open-roofed classes in clear tubes, there are no tests but lots of field trips, and art, music, and science are afterthoughts next to the huge and awesome gym, playground, and lunchroom. A robot and lots of cute puppies (including one in a wheeled cart) greet students at the door, robotically made-to-order lunches range from “PB & jelly to squid, lightly seared,” and the library’s books are all animated popups rather than the “everyday regular” sorts. There are no guards to be seen in the spacious hallways—hardly any adults at all, come to that—and the sparse coed student body features light- and dark-skinned figures in roughly equal numbers, a few with Asian features, and one in a wheelchair. Aside from the lack of restrooms, it seems an idyllic environment—at least for dog-loving children who prefer sports and play over quieter pursuits.
An all-day sugar rush, putting the “fun” back into, er, education. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-55291-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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by Kate DiCamillo ; illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
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by Chris Van Dusen ; illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
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by Kate DiCamillo ; illustrated by Chris Van Dusen
‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 21, 1992
A tall-tale introduction to the ``King of the Keelboatmen,'' from the time he ran away from home at the age of two days to his literally explosive confrontation with steamboat captain Hilton B. Blathersby. The historical Fink was a cruel man who came to a violent end, but Kellogg depicts him as a friendly-looking, fun-loving youth; indeed, nearly all of the keelboatmen here- -black, white, old, and young—are smiling, clean-cut types, rather at odds with their usual roughneck image. Though Fink spends much of his time wrestling men or bears, Kellogg's description of him seems bland in comparison to his glowing, energetic illustrations, and less heroic than his other legendary figures. (Picture book/Folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 21, 1992
ISBN: 0-688-07003-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1992
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More by Susan Cooper
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by Susan Cooper ; illustrated by Steven Kellogg
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by B.J. Ward ; illustrated by Steven Kellogg
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by Patricia MacLachlan ; illustrated by Steven Kellogg
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