The Hockys get a taste (and a smell) of rural living in this belated sequel to Smith’s deliciously post-modern primer, The Happy Hocky Family (1993). “In the city you use an alarm clock to wake up. In the country you don’t need one. COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO goes the neighbor’s rooster at 5:30 in the morning.” Seen as minimal, but artfully colored figures floating on fields of brown speckled paper, the Hockys experience a range of delights, from a leaky roof to nearby livestock in shifting winds. Meanwhile they struggle (without success) to make the bird feeder squirrel-proof, to dispose of autumn leaves that can be neither burned nor deposited in the town dump, and to keep the “wild bunny” out of the garden. In time the Hockys once again demonstrate their resilience, and readers will hardly need Smith’s assurance that they’re “going to be OKAY in the country!” The language moves a little past the prequel’s “Dick and Jane” primer level, but the twists are still sudden, sardonic, and as diverting to children as they are to grown-ups. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-670-03594-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2003
Bland pictures and superficial presentation sink this problem-solver. Feeling slighted by new neighbor Jeremy, the aggrieved young narrator accepts his father’s offer to make an “enemy pie.” Dad insists on doing the baking, but tells the lad that the recipe also requires spending a day playing with the enemy—after which, predictably, the two lads sit down as newly minted friends for pie à la mode. Though the narrator speculates about the pie’s ingredients, the promisingly gross worm-and-weed dishes on the cover never materialize in the illustrations inside, nor are any of Jeremy’s supposed offenses depicted. Instead, King shows the boys in a series of conventional, static scenes, throwing water balloons at girls and other fun activities. Meanwhile, Dad’s fixed, knowing smile invites viewers to share the conceit—even though his naïve son never does catch on. And is Jeremy really so hostile? He displays so little individual character that it’s hard to get a read on him; he just seems to be going with the flow. Invite readers to order up a bowl of Betsy Everitt’s Mean Soup (1992) instead, or a slice of Margie Palatini’s Piggie Pie (1995). (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8118-2778-X
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
PLB 0-517-70967-8 Me And My Family Tree (32 pp.; $13.00; PLB $14.99; May; 0-517-70966-X; PLB 0-517-70967-8): For children who are naturally curious about the people who care for them (most make inquiries into family relationships at an early age), Sweeney explains, with the assistance of a young narrator, the concept of a family tree. Photographs become understandable once the young girl learns the relationships among family members; she wonders what her own family tree will look like when she marries and has children. A larger message comes at the end of this story: not only does she have a family tree, but so does everyone in the world. Cable’s drawings clearly define the process of creating a family tree; she provides a blank tree so children can start on their own geneaology.(Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-517-70966-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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