In this play about playing, Reiser (Two Mice in Three Fables, 1995, etc.) provides a lesson about conflict resolution as well as a playable scenario about best friends Ruby and Beryl, who independently come up with the perfect game to play when their fathers take them to the park. Trouble is, it's the same game—horse and rider—and each wants to play the wild, tricky, beribboned horse. For a time, it's a stand-off, and Reiser's Sharpie-and-Crayola-marker art cleanly shows each girl's transformation into the headstrong horse, right down to Beryl's eyeglasses. Each girl tries to convince the other that a horse needs a rider, and when that doesn't do the trick, each determines to be both horse and rider. But this isn't right either; each girl recognizes the real problem, chorusing, ``But I wanted to play with YOU!'' After a cooling-off period, the girls separately devise the same solution: a new game in which two centaurs play together. The symmetry of the piece is somewhat disconcerting—by giving each girl and idea equal weight and value, the exercise is sterile and clipped instead of the emotional morass typical of most arguments. The bright, chipper look, however, will win readers; it's not hard to imagine children acting this out. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-688-15199-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1997
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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