Letty, separated from her itinerant family during a storm, happens across a kingdom where the royal snore is driving the subjects to distraction. Through Letty's efforts, the king gets a taste of his own medicine when his bed is wheeled to Echo Ravine. The echo knocks the snores right out of the monarch, who sleeps peacefully ever after. In a curious twist, Letty is then reunited with her parents. Actually, it's too curious, one of many abrupt moments throughout this fractured and disjointed story from Miller (Those Bottles!, 1994, etc.). Its weak underpinnings don't support the very funny premise: Readers never learn why Letty was straggling behind the family cart, nor why she embroiders her suggestion instead of just speaking up, nor why she is left behind again at the very moment she should be treated as a national heroine. Hawkes's paintings are elegant, peppered with comedic touches; their soft focus reins in the energy of the piece and somewhat fuses the many disparate parts. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 1995
ISBN: 0-399-22650-8
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1995
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
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