A very determined young lady knows precisely what she wants to wear. Ella Sarah is in her jammies (with a pattern of white sheep on bright blue) and announcing that she wants to wear “my pink polka-dot pants, my dress with orange-and-green flowers, my purple-and-blue striped socks, my yellow shoes, and my red hat.” Mom, Dad, and big sister have other ideas for her attire, but Ella Sarah repeats her desired outfit emphatically at each suggestion. When readers see her friends gathered for a tea party, it’s clear that they all knew just what they wanted to wear—a riot of mismatched color and pattern. Chodos-Irvine uses printmaking for these fabulously patterned images, where wallpaper, rugs, and toys create wonderful rhythms. Ella Sarah’s body language, which goes from determined to dejected to defiant to dogmatic, contrasts with the posturing of her parents and sibling, seen from Ella Sarah’s point of view, heads cut off by the picture plane. A wonderfully realized artistic conceit with a storyline guaranteed to tickle the fancy of baby fashionistas and their families. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-15-216413-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2003
A bedtime fantasy about a tousled little boy, dressed in red sleepers, and the nine stuffed animals who play imaginative games with him (``TRAINS!'' ``PIRATES!'' ``GHOSTS!'') until, one by one, they fall asleep. Like ``Ten in a Bed,'' the story provides a good exercise in reverse counting and prediction for preschoolers. The author's whimsical colored-pencil-and-watercolor art is filled with humorous details: a rabbit eating a carrot sandwich; a scene (``Let's play ACTING!'') from The Nutcracker, with a crocodile in the title role; or, on the pirate ship, a sheep-and-crossbones flag. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 1994
ISBN: 1-56402-322-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1994
A funny, beautifully written book by the award-winning author of Fish Story (1993). Ralph is Humphrey's older brother and he is not easily impressed—certainly not by a baby like Humphrey, who is just learning to eat, wave, clap, and pat the cat. Ralph becomes jealous of all the attention Humphrey is getting for doing such simple things. He takes matters into his own hands—learning how to cook eggs and use the washing machine (both with disastrous results), and treating Humphrey like his pet fish by filling the bathtub for him to swim in and sprinkling it with fish food. When he hears Humphrey crying one day, he tries to take him out of the crib by himself. They both crash to the floor, and Humphrey laughs and says his first word, ``Alph.'' Ralph is finally impressed by his baby brother. The text is sensitive and perceptive about the trials—and rewards—of being an older sibling. And Day's comic, colorful illustrations complement it perfectly. Amusing and well told. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-671-88129-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
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