Cowboy Gus is sweet but naïve. He’s often teased and tricked, which makes him sad. Doc Hickory sends him to the town of Fibrock, where he must find the biggest liar to tell him the tallest of tall tales, thereby teaching Gus how to distinguish flimflam from truth. The grand liar, Hokum Malarkey, is happy to spin stories on top of tales. He tells Gus of outlandish people like Cantankerous Clem, whose only friend is a parlor chair, and Backwards Hannah, who, as sheriff, rounds up criminals before they commit crimes. By story’s end Gus, who thought he had it all figured out, discovers that there is a blurry line between truth and fiction. The rollicking text is stuffed with such snappy words as whim-wham, chuckleheads and taradiddle. With hues of brown, orange and blue, Glass’s comical art is befittingly energetic and folksy. One can’t believe everything one is told or reads, but this darn good yarn will have kids galloping through the pages of this middle reader. (Fiction. 6-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-618-92710-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
At ``Step 2'' in the useful ``Step into Reading'' series: an admirably clear, well-balanced presentation that centers on wolves' habits and pack structure. Milton also addresses their endangered status, as well as their place in fantasy, folklore, and the popular imagination. Attractive realistic watercolors on almost every page. Top-notch: concise, but remarkably extensive in its coverage. A real bargain. (Nonfiction/Easy reader. 6-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-91052-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
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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