PLB 0-688-15542-1 My Day In The Garden ($16.00; PLB $15.93; Apr.; 24 pp.; 0-688-15541-3; PLB 0-688-15542-1): The creative heroines in this gentle story of easy companionship show that rainy days can be full of fun. “Berry-picking with the birds./Lunch with the ladybugs./Under a tree for a nap,” are among the scenes; with the aid of costumes and the girls’ imaginations, the foursome create their own party, dressing up as butterflies, ladybugs, crickets, even worms. They eat, wriggle, sing, and play hide-and-seek. As darkness falls, the girls disband, and one child is seen asleep, with more dreams of the garden dancing in her head. Lobel’s idyllic illustrations are as lovely as a sunny summer afternoon, while the lyrical text demonstrates inventive simplicity. Charming. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-15541-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
With a curmudgeonly rat as his reluctant tour guide, a boy explores a pet store in which all the denizens are for sale. Exotic animals abound; the selection includes a giant tortoise, pelican, platypus, skink, koala bear, and even an anteater. While the boy shops, the little rat desperately tries to convince him that he is the best bargain. “ ‘Who wants a koala that doesn’t like leaves?’ said the rat. ‘Or an anteater that won’t eat its ant? I’m not fussy! I’ll eat . . . ANYTHING!’ “ A portion of the page is missing, as if chomped by the overeager rodent. Inkpen adroitly introduces numerals 1—10; every animal is priced consecutively from 1õ for the rat up to 10õ for an entire bag of “assorted little brown creatures,” with the ultimate bargain a Komodo dragon for 25õ. Readers gain a last lesson in addition as they learn that the entire contents of the store can be had for $1.00—precisely the amount in the boy’s pocket. Colorful, detailed illustrations depict the creatures with realism. Humor, well-placed lift-up flaps and the antics of the rat conspire to make this thoroughly likable. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30130-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
This short tour of the jungle from Banks (And If the Moon Could Talk, 1998, etc.) and Bogacki (The Story of a Blue Bird, 1998, etc.) features so many rebuses that it is more of a puzzle than a picture book, but a fun one at that. Bird, Monkey, and Snake—a mildly contentious lot—have their treehouse washed out from under them in a storm. They set off into the great and deep greenery in search of a new abode, with visions of ideal trees dancing in their heads. Utopia they do not find; rather, they find themselves in a series of scary encounters with giant spiders, snapping crocodiles, rude squirrels, and menacing tigers. To their credit, they come to each other’s aid, lending courage and fortitude without fanfare. They do come upon a new tree home, and though a little green frog occupies it, he welcomes them. When their personal quirks again manifest themselves, they are accepted as part of the price of community. Banks keeps the story nimble, never peddling her points with too much fervor. Bogacki, in dappled and deep jungle hues, has fractured abstract images all over the page, giving an impression of the background but endowing the inhabitants with simple, clean forms. A neat cipher of the rebus symbols appears in the border of every spread. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: March 18, 1999
ISBN: 0-374-30729-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
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