Despite vibrant, detailed cityscapes, Russo (When Mama Gets Home, 1998, etc.) does such a good job portraying a young girl’s boredom when her mother makes too many stops for conversation as they walk together to the supermarket that the story itself is tedious. Every stop that her mother makes turns into a gabfest that tries Celeste’s patience. To bide the time, she counts cars, pieces of jewelry, and the seconds between light changes at the intersection, until she can stand no more and gives her mother’s sleeve a tug: “Come on, Mama.” The tables turn briefly when Celeste stops to pet a puppy, but it isn’t a balanced enough counterpoint to her mother’s dawdling to make any point. The flat artwork presents enjoyable urban scenes, but all the talk is smothering, in what amounts to a multicultural odyssey—first is Mrs. Green (African-American), then comes Mrs. Walker (Caucasian), then Mr. Chan (Chinese), then Mrs. Castro (possibly Latina). The book is a grand example of showing instead of telling, but the show, unfortunately, is dull. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16411-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The poster boy for relentless mischief-makers everywhere, first encountered in No, David! (1998), gives his weary mother a rest by going to school. Naturally, he’s tardy, and that’s but the first in a long string of offenses—“Sit down, David! Keep your hands to yourself! PAY ATTENTION!”—that culminates in an afterschool stint. Children will, of course, recognize every line of the text and every one of David’s moves, and although he doesn’t exhibit the larger- than-life quality that made him a tall-tale anti-hero in his first appearance, his round-headed, gap-toothed enthusiasm is still endearing. For all his disruptive behavior, he shows not a trace of malice, and it’ll be easy for readers to want to encourage his further exploits. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-48087-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
There is something profoundly elemental going on in Smalls’s book: the capturing of a moment of unmediated joy. It’s not melodramatic, but just a Saturday in which an African-American father and son immerse themselves in each other’s company when the woman of the house is away. Putting first things first, they tidy up the house, with an unheralded sense of purpose motivating their actions: “Then we clean, clean, clean the windows,/wipe, wipe, wash them right./My dad shines in the windows’ light.” When their work is done, they head for the park for some batting practice, then to the movies where the boy gets to choose between films. After a snack, they work their way homeward, racing each other, doing a dance step or two, then “Dad takes my hand and slows down./I understand, and we slow down./It’s a long, long walk./We have a quiet talk and smile.” Smalls treats the material without pretense, leaving it guileless and thus accessible to readers. Hays’s artwork is wistful and idyllic, just as this day is for one small boy. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-316-79899-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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