An unlikely duo in an unbelievable story that doesn’t quite feel well-constructed in the end.
An unpredictable tale of a surprising friendship.
Mr. Biddles, a feline inventor, builds various patented machines. His orderly if lonely world seems just right until an unexpected visitor, Hobson the lobster, appears on his doorstep. What begins as an assistantship soon becomes a friendship. When Hobson becomes homesick, Mr. Biddles designs the Super Lobster Sightseeing Sidecar for them to travel to see Hobson’s family. However, this quirky friendship story poses several unanswered questions. Hobson’s initial appearance, his intermittent need for an aquatic environment, and his sudden facility at invention complicate believability. Furthermore, a surfeit of inventions in the book reveals a missed opportunity. Just one detailed invention might have more tightly fastened the nuts and bolts of this unlikely friendship. Sophisticated vocabulary seems at times uncharacteristic: “tricked-out tank” and “cranked on the catnip diffuser.” Imaginative endpapers hint at distinctive mixed-media illustrations. One spread displays various inventions, sketches, and materials on a cluttered desk filled with details perfect for observant young readers. These details sometimes make it difficult to locate the text, printed on collaged-in scraps of lined paper, though. Some illustrations fall short: when Mr. Biddles extends a magnet toward his mailbox, the door remains closed, prompting readers to wonder whether his inventions work and whether he can indeed help his friend in need.
An unlikely duo in an unbelievable story that doesn’t quite feel well-constructed in the end. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-244114-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...
Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.
The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.
While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mackinac Island Press
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
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