Van Laan (Tickle Tum!, p. 59, etc.) presents a collection of three not-too-scary rhyming tales populated by Chess’s (The Beautiful Butterfly, 2000, etc.) wickedly loathsome, dark-eyed creatures. The first story is of the unsavory Old Doctor Wango, an unpleasant character who has starved his dog Towser, his cat Mouser, and his poor gaunt horse Sam by feeding them just pebbles and grass. He then takes a ride and all are blown away by a wahooing wind. A bit of a let-down. The second describes a gruesome being pulled together piece by piece: “Two legs inside a pair of pants / came bounding down the stairs. / They danced a jig and spun around / Then something else came wooshing down.” Right, the arms inside a shirt, and so forth. And the final installment in this trilogy of horror is an old favorite of the up-past-midnight sleepover set: An old woman is picking peas (the bright green pea pods are as long as her arm) and finds a detached hairy toe on the ground. She buries it and that night the original owner haunts her to get it back. This version is kinder and gentler than usual, thanks to the rhyming and the lack of the traditional jump, but it’s creepy enough for a younger scare. Children will enjoy Van Laan’s storytelling cadence and the sheer fun of the language—and you can’t beat Chess’s ghoulish creatures with a hairy toe. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-81875-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
The author of A Piece of String is a Wonderful Thing (1993) and a greeting-card illustrator take a cautious walk down a jungle path: ``When you go into the jungle, go carefully. It's a wild place. In every shadow there could be a snake curled quietly.... You'll never see them, they're too wild and sly. Wild things never look you in the eye.'' Epps's simply drawn oils convey little of this feeling however; two children walk through a spacious, gardenlike landscape festooned with smiling animals ``hiding'' in plain sight—and making plenty of eye contact with the viewer. This poor match between text and pictures won't take readers nearly as deep into the ``wild place'' as Jane Yolen's Welcome to the Green House (1993). (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1994
ISBN: 1-56402-423-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
When Erin visits the attic of her grandfather's country house, she is enchanted by the discovery of an old doll packed in a brass-hinged wooden box. Her grandfather allows her to keep it when she promises to take good care of the precious find. But late at night, Erin is awakened by the wind and drawn out of the house on a mysterious, sea-bound adventure, with the doll tucked safely under her arm. Alone at sea, she meets another little girl and learns the name and history of the beautiful doll. The highly colored, expressionistic illustrations are sure to dazzle, although a story that appears to encourage solo midnight boat trips may be one that will give parents pause. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-671-79585-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
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