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NEVER LET YOUR CAT MAKE LUNCH FOR YOU

Name: NEVER LET YOUR CAT MAKE LUNCH FOR YOU
Author: Lee Harris
ISBN: 1-883762-80-5

by Lee Harris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

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If the lighthearted title doesn’t grab readers, the spirited illustrations will, as a young girl tells what can happen when a highly anthropomorphized orange cat—a whiz at making breakfast—overreaches and attempts lunch. No pet lover will quibble with a helpful cat or dog, especially one who is good in the kitchen. What can be quibbled with, however, is that the range of the cat’s abilities given in the text is contradicted by the illustrations. Pebbles, the cat, wields a cast iron frying pan with ease, but must spread the peanut butter with her paw “because she can’t hold a knife.” She makes “scrambled eggs and bacon the best,” but displays eggs that are sunny-side up. Onlookers may be so befuddled that they’ll miss the cat’s true culinary sins (anchovy and mouse garnishes) that have resulted in the narrator’s admonishment of the title. It’s a cute book, but a sloppy one. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999

ISBN: 1-883762-80-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tricycle

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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THE CANDLESTICK

by Jason Akley ; illustrated by Bobbi Switzer ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 13, 2007

Gibberish with meritless pictures. (Picture book. 5-7)

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A young girl’s dream takes her on a fantastical adventure.

In what is ostensibly verse, Akley tells of a little girl who has a dream–or perhaps a metaphorical adventure or spiritual awakening–about a gold candlestick. Determined to find the meaning behind it, she embarks on a quest, along the way meeting various preachy animals in different settings. It’s clear that lessons are supposedly being taught, but what exactly that wisdom entails is lost in text that is awkward, lengthy and clichÃ©d. Presented as prose despite the attempted verse, the story fails to generate interest. The accompanying illustrations are unpleasantly colored and amateurish; faces are distorted, and the pictures often deviate from the text. Readers will sense that the girl achieves her quest but will never understand its purpose. Akley claims the story has a basis in the Book of Revelations, but beyond the word â€œcross” and the possibility of an ever-present shepherd, no actual meaning–religious or secular–is decipherable.

Gibberish with meritless pictures. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: April 13, 2007

ISBN: 978-1-4327-0312-9

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
SWEET PEA AND THE BUMBLEBEE
by Jason Akley ; illustrated by Bobbi Switzer

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IN THE PALM OF DARKNESS

by Mayra Montero & translated by Edith Grossman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1997

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In The Palm Of Darkness ($21.00; May 1997; 192 pp.; 0-06-018703- 4): A Cuban writers's intensely imaginative portrait of the extremities of Haitian culture rings some fresh changes on the overfamiliar theme of intellectual arrogance humbled by its collision with ``elemental'' peasant wisdom. Montero subtly builds up a revealing contrast between Victor Griggs, a European herpetologist searching for the remaining specimens of an endangered species of amphibian, and his native guide Thierry Adrien's memories of his family's encounter with the island's ubiquitous spirits. This truly original novel is studded with surprises—not least of which is the concept of a species suddenly and entirely disappearing in a milieu where the living and the dead are known to mingle together more or less matter-of-factly. A refreshingly sophisticated treat. (Author tour)