Lynnhurst School Principal Mr. Tanen is happy to be the first one back from winter break. He’s also happy to see the rooms are painted and the heat and the refrigerator have been fixed. A call from the school department interrupts Mr. Tanen’s morning ritual of choosing a tie from his ample supply. The winter repairs drained the budget and there’s no money for the promised playground repairs. Mr. Tanen is distraught. The students worked hard all Fall to earn their part of the money. Then he hits on an idea. He auctions his beloved ties to raise the money. Everyone in town buys one, and the playground project is saved. The ribbon-cutting on the new playground is actually a tie-untying as the whole town returns the ties to the man who made them famous. Cocca-Leffler’s snappy and smiling watercolor-and-chalk illustrations bring Mr. Tanen and the denizens of Lynnhurst to life. Younger readers might not grasp the budgetary plot points, and a few older readers might find Mr. T’s altruism hard to believe. However, the twice-stated message “the more you give, the more you get” is a lesson every elementary student should take to heart. Fans of Mr. Tanen’s first tale (Mr. Tanen’s Ties, 1999) will not be disappointed at this welcome return. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-8075-5305-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2003
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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