Jaffrey (Market Days, 1995, etc.) presents a cycle of adventures in which Robi Dobi, an Indian elephant, benevolently allows small, troubled creatures to come into his ear where it is warm and safe and to venture forth with him to resolve their problems. First he meets Kabbi Wahabbi, a mouse spray-painted bright orange by the wicked snake-witch Slimy Kimey; then Maya Wishkaya, a butterfly dancer whose ambition has landed her with a bum wing; and finally, some green parrots, intent on rescuing their Princess Tara from the Wicked Purple Panthers. After a tantalizing preface about Jaffrey's childhood in India comes melodramatic, cliff-hanging events that are reminiscent, in their derring-do, of George Lucas's interpretations of horse opera, although without a smidge of informing philosophy, or a real sense of the setting and characters. A typographical error tips the tale into the surreal: Having never before referred to himself in the third person, Robi says, ``Let's go. Maya and Robi, you stay in my ear.'' Among the bright spots in this blancmange of intrepidity is Kabbi Wahabbi's witty reiteration of his situational equivocation``If I wasn't orange, if I wasn't so far from home, and if I wasn't worrying about my family, I would really enjoy this.'' (Whatever happened to the subjunctive?) Hall's truly magnificent illustrations work overtime against the precious text to personalize the sweep and swirl of the world of these exotic animals. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-8037-2193-5
Page Count: 76
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1997
Imagine the states, Kansas, California, Ohio, and all the rest, as people with toothy grins, ping-pong balls for eyes, pipe cleaner limbs, and full-blown personalities. Imagine, then, that they get together at a party and decide to switch places on the map. In this amusing spoof, Kansas wakes up one morning saying, “I’m not feeling happy at all!” and starts the whole thing. Florida goes to Minnesota, California goes to Wisconsin, Nevada and Mississippi fall in love. Then the trouble starts: Alaska, who had missed company, feels claustrophobic among other states; Kansas finds his place in the middle of the ocean to be a bit too quiet; Minnesota, in Florida’s spot, forgets to pack suntan lotion; and so on. Soon the states are rushing back to their original spots with sighs of relief. Keller, in her first book pushes a silly idea, to great lengths, and will elicit laughs from all those who thought geography was boring. The states are colorful, boastful, belligerent, and charming, in collage illustrations that are full of spontaneous asides and intriguing labels. The states appear in a final gallery, with a few statistics to square off the whole funny enterprise. (Picture book. 8-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-8050-5802-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1998
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock”...
The theme of persistence (for better or worse) links four tales of magic, trickery, and near disasters.
Lachenmeyer freely borrows familiar folkloric elements, subjecting them to mildly comical twists. In the nearly wordless “Hip Hop Wish,” a frog inadvertently rubs a magic lamp and finds itself saddled with an importunate genie eager to shower it with inappropriate goods and riches. In the title tale, an increasingly annoyed music-hating witch transforms a persistent minstrel into a still-warbling cow, horse, sheep, goat, pig, duck, and rock in succession—then is horrified to catch herself humming a tune. Athesius the sorcerer outwits Warthius, a rival trying to steal his spells via a parrot, by casting silly ones in Ig-pay Atin-lay in the third episode, and in the finale, a painter’s repeated efforts to create a flattering portrait of an ogre king nearly get him thrown into a dungeon…until he suddenly understands what an ogre’s idea of “flattering” might be. The narratives, dialogue, and sound effects leave plenty of elbow room in Blocker’s big, brightly colored panels for the expressive animal and human(ish) figures—most of the latter being light skinned except for the golden genie, the blue ogre, and several people of color in the “Sorcerer’s New Pet.”
Alert readers will find the implicit morals: know your audience, mostly, but also never underestimate the power of “rock” music. (Graphic short stories. 8-10)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-59643-750-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
