Aesop noir—gorgeous. (Picture book/folk tale. 6-10)
A melodramatic take on the Aesop fable with dark, strongly brushed artwork and equally expressive language.
“When the moon slithers into the open skies, surely some trickery is afoot.” The charged exchange between the crow with the stolen bread in his beak and the trickster fox below is entirely nonverbal: “Their eyes meet. A challenge is spoken.” Fox howls (“Oh, she’s a temptress, that one,” comments the narrative). As “[a] song is an invitation[,] Crow must sing back.” In consequence, even as “Crow’s pride sets his hunger ablaze,” Fox snatches the fallen bread with a smirk, and her “tail teases as she swishes away.” The big, spread-spanning nighttime scenes are mostly close-ups, often just headshots of the sly rivals (and an owl, looking on inscrutably) limned in thick swirls of light and shadow. Floating musical notes to symbolize the “song” add an incongruous (and superfluous) element, but they don’t detract significantly from the brief encounter’s intensity. The moral goes unstated, and in contrast to more-conventional versions, the interpretation suggests higher stakes than just a lost meal. Discuss.
Aesop noir—gorgeous. (Picture book/folk tale. 6-10)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-81-8190-303-7
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Karadi Tales
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Lively fun with animal friends.
Has Plum’s pep deserted him?
Several animals from the Athensville Zoo are on their way to visit an elementary school. Overconfident Itch the ningbing (an Australian marsupial), unaware that zookeeper Lizzie will be doing all the talking, looks forward to “lecturing eager young minds.” Plum, the usually chipper peacock, on the other hand, is anxious—maybe the schoolchildren won’t like him or he’ll get lost. So when they arrive at the school to find the students have been sent home due to a blizzard, Plum is relieved. The animals are left in a school gym for the night until three self-important class mice free them. Itch heads for the library to meet the learned turtle, but Plum reluctantly explores with his friends. When his anxiety peaks, they reassure him, and when the mice reject Meg, another peacock, as “borrrring” and uncool, they buoy her as well before everyone comes together to save Itch, who finds himself outside and stranded in a snowdrift. Unlike Leave It to Plum (2022), this is not a mystery, and the relationship focus shifts from Lizzie to the rodents, but the pace is brisk, and sequel seekers will be pleased to revisit familiar characters (if dismayed that Itch’s longing for knowledge leads to his downfall). In Phelan’s engaging grayscale pen-and-wash illustrations, Lizzie has short curly hair; text and art cue her as Latine.
Lively fun with animal friends. (how to draw Plum) (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-307920-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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