A perky brown dog named Stella is the first-person narrator in this collection of 29 humorous poems written from the canine perspective. In short, rhyming verse, the appealing dog describes her adoption at a shelter by a kind family with three children, their selection of a name and her impressions of the parents, children and other pets. Other poems focus on particular aspects of Stella’s new life, such as playing at the dog park or going to the groomer. The amusing, well-written poems are presented in a variety of formats, integrated into the illustrations on each page by the placement of the text on the wall or floor of the family’s cozy home or the sky or grass in outdoor scenes. Meisel’s illustrations bring Stella and her family to life with a bright palette of cheerful colors and a cast of characters that have real personality. The proficient design is also integral to the success of the book, with a clever cover illustration and a typeface that echoes a child’s printing style. Poetry collections about pets are as common as fleas on a dog, but Stella’s poetic narrative is one bark above the rest. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4027-3987-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Chato and Novio Boy, low-riding East Los Angeles homeboys of the feline variety, have dinner guests. The invitees, a family of five fat mice who just moved in next door, haven't an inkling that they are the intended main course. But when the mice bring along their friend Chorizo (a worldly mutt in a slouch beret) to share the grub, he thwarts the cats' connivings. This unlikely three- species chow-down is a sweet salute to Spanish cooking, with fajitas, frijoles, and quesadillas sharing center stage. Soto delivers a spare, clever text; the words skip like stones across water—``His tail began to swing to the rhythm. He felt the twinge of mambo in his hips.'' Guevara's swarming, luxuriant illustrations give the atmosphere palpability, with brushstrokes so fresh readers will want to stick their fingers in the paint to feel its texture. Menace hangs in the air; the artist mixes the sinisterness of R. Crumb with moments of Edvard Munch terror, yet it seems likely from the outset that the mice are more than capable of looking after themselves. Incidental touches—little devils and angels darting about, a bird wedding glimpsed through a window—are there for the sharp-eyed. Smart, with a nice edge. Soto's inspired finger-snapping prose has found an equally imaginative comrade in Guevara's colorful urban paintings. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 22, 1995
ISBN: 0-399-22658-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1995
Turkey’s in the “kind of trouble where it’s almost Thanksgiving...and you’re the main course.” Accordingly, Turkey tries on disguise after disguise, from horse to cow to pig to sheep, at each iteration being told that he looks nothing like the animal he’s trying to mimic (which is quite true, as Harper’s quirky watercolors make crystal clear). He desperately squeezes a red rubber glove onto his head to pass as a rooster, only to overhear the farmer suggest a poultry plan B when he’s unable to turn up the turkey. Turkey’s horrified expression as he stands among the peppers and tomatoes—in November? Chalk it up to artistic license—is priceless, but his surroundings give him an idea. Good fun, but it may lead to a vegetarian table or two. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5529-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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