Truss follows up her hilarious guide to comma placement with a sequel focusing on the trickier concept of apostrophes. She begins with a two-page introduction explaining the use of the apostrophe in possessives, contractions and in the challenging choice of “its” vs. “it’s.” Each consecutive spread follows the simple but clever layout used in the preceding volume, using a minimum of text with large, appealing illustrations in Timmons’s distinctive, understated style. The left-hand page shows a simple sentence or phrase without the use of the apostrophe, while the facing page adds an apostrophe that changes the meaning. For example, in “the dogs like my dad,” several dogs cavort around a man with wild hair and a beard. In “the dog’s like my dad,” the hairy man is walking just one dog with similar red hair. Some sentence pairs are whimsical while others are laugh-out-loud funny, but the entire text is easy to understand through the charming watercolor-and-ink illustrations. The final spread shows each of the previous pages in miniature with short explanations of the grammatical terms and issues. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: July 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-399-24706-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
“Little Shop of Horrors” for the teddy bear set? Not at all, despite similarities: in this warmhearted tale, a tropical plant with a taste for meat goes from scary houseguest to beloved family member. Nolen (Max and Jax in Second Grade, p. 342, etc.) sketches the plot in a series of letters from young Mortimer Henryson and his parents to Mortimer’s science teacher, Mr. Lester. Having sat next to “Plantcilia” all through third grade, Mortimer begs permission to bring it home for the summer, but after it proves to be both mobile and carnivorous (the family Chihuahua vanishes), his mother is beseeching Mr. Lester to take it back. With characteristic comic extravagance, Catrow (We the Kids, p. 564, etc.) fleshes out the details in a series of frenetic scenes increasingly crowded with long, snaky tendrils, ragged leaves, and bulbous green appendages with ominously toothy rims. As the summer goes on, however, Plantzilla proves less a menace than an eager asset, as capable of playing field hockey with Mortimer as jazz for his boogying parents—even spitting out the unharmed dog and, ultimately, writing a letter of its own: “PEEEple Gooood. I wil sta widdem fro ever!” Readers, plant-lovers or otherwise, will find this vegetative visitor taking root in their affections too. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-15-202412-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Whistle/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2002
No scandal mongering or shady PACs weasel their way into Stier’s bright-eyed story of running for the office of president. This will be an innocent and charmingly earnest race with lots of different kids tossing their hats into the ring. (Forget for the moment that candidates must be at least 35 years old, one of the bevy of facts presented at the outset.) Stier follows the candidates, and Avril draws them in all their crayon guilelessness, as they brood over entering the race, move from caucus to convention, ponder their positions and spread their wares before the public. Whiners need not apply, as Stier lets it be known that getting your message across is a long, tough job. But the story is refreshing, too; no one is pandering or posturing. Honesty is a virtue here, as is being concerned and well-scrubbed. This is a campaign to yearn for, all issues and not a spin doctor in sight. It’s enough to make you consider lowering the age requirement by about 30 years. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-8075-3543-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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