A classic legend gets a more or less good-humored makeover with a happier ending. Plagued by mice—“ ‘What shall we do?’ the townsfolk cried. / ‘In spite of every thing we’ve tried, / They’ve covered all the countryside / And still they keep on coming! / Their manners are extremely rude; / They don’t show any gratitude; / And yet they gobble up our food / And clog up all the plumbing!’ ”—the residents of “Mousy Town” happily pay an oddly dressed stranger to wave his magic fan and lure the rodents away with deliciously cheesy odors. But then all the cats follow, and all the dogs, and finally all the children. What to do? Suddenly the Mouse Man has a sly look. Giving the tale a 19th-century setting, Forman combines soft lines and warm colors reminiscent of Jim LaMarche, with figures and details as finely drawn as Wendy Anderson Halperin’s, then casts a golden glow over every scene that suggests the benign resolution to come. And, perhaps harking back to her renowned A House Is a House for Me (1978), Hoberman provides one, in a child’s suggestion that a vagrant trickster might become a good neighbor, if only he had a house. A rollicking, readable remake from one of the best versifiers in the business, and a strong debut for the illustrator. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-201715-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Gulliver/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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