The text in Garland’s book has little merit, and appears mostly as an excuse for the digital artwork. The night before Christmas, Tingle, a diligent elf in Santa’s workshop, falls asleep in the cockpit of a toy plane he has been working on. When the plane is wrapped, so is he, and the package is tucked into Santa’s sleigh and delivered to Joey for Christmas. Tingle gets homesick, flies the plane homeward, runs out of power, and hitches a ride with a polar bear. Garland makes no effort to endow his principals with any personality or presence; the artwork suffers from a grating juxtaposition of hyperrealism and smoky, blurred imagery. The proportions and depths of field are discomfittingly exaggerated, except for a scene in which the northern lights are on display above Santa’s workshop—there the otherworldliness perfectly matches the event. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-525-46212-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
It is dawn on a day of street parties, and children are donning minimalist costumes (an underwater mask for a deep-sea diver, a cowboy hat to evoke a cowboy) so that “even those who love us must guess our identities.” Of course the children aren’t truly disguised: “I know you, Mardi Gras,” one friend calls from the sidewalk. By the fifth spread, readers understand that this is more than a children’s party; “Mardi Gras Indians live in our neighborhood,” and each emerges from “the door blinds of his small house like a spring flower opening.” Five of the double-page oil paintings are given over to actual parade scenes; the rest of the book features more domestic scenes of children in their homes and backyards during the long Mardi Gras day. The story is poetic, but puzzling to children new to the subject: Where is the story taking place? What are “Mardi Gras Indians,” and how to makes sense of the statement “A parade named Zulu will pass”? In read-aloud sessions, cover the author’s note in the back first, for a more succinct introduction to some of the customs of the New Orleans parade. Shaik’s narrative is deliberately child-centered, offering an insider’s view of the day but not quite succeeding in beckoning newcomers to it. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8037-1442-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
A refreshing story about Mother’s Day features a terrifically thoughtful girl who comes up with just the right present. Charity, who is probably in first grade, hears from her teacher that there are two days until Mother’s Day. She starts thinking about a gift, dismissing silly suggestions. The next day, she views her multi-tasking mother handling toast, dishwasher, phone, and microwave, maintaining a harried, frantic pace. Anxiety keeps Charity awake Saturday night till she thinks of the perfect gift. She unplugs the clocks and turns off “everything that beeps or bleeps or buzzes.” The clever and homey text is illustrated with comic scenes that exaggerate the mother’s busy life without—for most households—making it absurd. Charity’s care in coming up with a present is subtly conveyed, making the lesson far more powerful. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8075-4955-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
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