The word “divorce” is never uttered in this charming story of a young girl who sometimes lives with her mom, and sometimes with her dad, but who never leaves the side of her affable dog Fred. The differences in the girl’s two homes are presented matter-of-factly, as is the common denominator of both household experiences—mom and dad alike are frustrated with Fred by day’s end: “What am I going to do with this dog?” each parent asks, as the dog barks at mom’s neighbor’s poodle or eats dad’s socks. When both parents insist the dog can’t stay, the little girl, standing in a literal and figurative spotlight, states defiantly, “Excuse me . . . Fred doesn’t stay with either of you. Fred stays with ME!” All ends well, as the families devise ways to manage Fred’s canine idiosyncrasies. It all sounds simple enough, but Coffelt offers a fresh, villain-free look at a split family—and at a girl who finds strength, love and reassuring consistency in the dear pooch who is all her own. Tusa’s winning, soft-edged, autumnally hued watercolor illustrations perfectly complement the quiet story, infusing humor and chaos into the more understated text. A gem. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-316-88269-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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