Who better to deal with a class of little monsters than a toothy, green-skinned teacher with a lizard’s tail and witchy powers? In Nash’s otherwise-familiar classroom scenes, many of the children really are juvenile versions of famous Creature Feature creatures: a vampirelet, a loosely-wrapped mummy, a furry wolf-boy, a black-clad child whose last name has to be Addams, and so on. The young narrator regards his “creature teacher” with a mix of respect and affection, whether she’s rejecting his “ . . . taped and glued / assignments that my werewolf chewed,” dispatching a bully to the Principal’s office aboard a flying broom, or leading everyone outside “for recess time / to jump and play in piles of slime.” Despite plenty of extra limbs and googly eyes, there’s not a trace of eeriness here; even sensitive or younger readers will respond with giggles rather than shivers to this tongue-in-cheek tribute—and likely take to heart the closing line: “So if your creature teacher’s near— / thank her for her help this year!” Quite a contrast to Edith Pattou’s Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden, illustrated by Tricia Tusa (2001), but the message is the same. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-06-029694-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2004
There are many parallel legends – the seal women, for example, with their strange sad longings – but none is more direct than this American Indian story of a girl who is carried away in a horses’ stampede…to ride thenceforth by the side of a beautiful stallion who leads the wild horses. The girl had always loved horses, and seemed to understand them “in a special way”; a year after her disappearance her people find her riding beside the stallion, calf in tow, and take her home despite his strong resistance. But she is unhappy and returns to the stallion; after that, a beautiful mare is seen riding always beside him. Goble tells the story soberly, allowing it to settle, to find its own level. The illustrations are in the familiar striking Goble style, but softened out here and there with masses of flowers and foliage – suitable perhaps for the switch in subject matter from war to love, but we miss the spanking clean design of Custer’s Last Battle and The Fetterman Fight. 6-7
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1978
ISBN: 0689845049
Page Count: -
Publisher: Bradbury
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1978
In a cautionary tale about the perils of unbridled bibliophagy, once young Henry discovers that the more books he eats the smarter he gets, he proceeds to gorge—and not only racks up humongous library fines, but ends up with both stomach and brains aboil with undigested content. Embarrassing incidents ensue. Painting and assembling scraps into collages on a wide range of papers, from the insides of tattered dust jackets to old official forms and yellowed graph paper, Jeffers crafts exuberantly raffish illustrations featuring a round-headed lad drawn in quick cartoon style. Ultimately, Henry comes to realize that it’s more enjoyable to read books than to eat them—though, as a chewed-away corner on the rear cover of this one reveals, he’s not immune to occasional backsliding. Dish this out to eager readers, with a grain of salt, and watch them snap it up. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-399-24749-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2007
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