Absurdist and realistic at the same time, this Israeli mermaid tale requires a dry sense of humor.
Grain-of-Sand, a mermaid, suddenly appears in Mr. Whatwilltheysay’s apartment.
Greatly concerned with his neighbors’ opinions, blank-faced Mr. Whatwilltheysay wants the mermaid to leave, but only when no one can see her. Although he is attracted to her, he cannot imagine marrying her, her bottom half consisting of a fish tail—he is true to his rather obvious name. She rightly calls him out on his fish-shaming: “You’re saying that because you have legs.” She keeps trying to introduce her watery ways into his humdrum life, but he’s not falling for her the way that males usually do in mermaid tales. When she disappears, he realizes his mistake. He madly searches the Tel Aviv waterfront and, on the fourth night, finally spots her, rising majestically from the waves, in the bathtub she stole from his apartment. The old stories do ring true, but after the fearful guy joins her, Grain-of-Sand has the last word: “I saved the tub stopper for you, my darling.” The two main characters present white. Inspired by mermaid legends, this Israeli import has a wry humor that may mystify young readers here. The surrealist illustrations feature intense colors on very shiny paper; they will draw everyone’s attention, children and adults alike.
Absurdist and realistic at the same time, this Israeli mermaid tale requires a dry sense of humor. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63206-211-6
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Restless Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
No more than a side dish next to the appetite-killing courses dished out by Shel Silverstein, by Adam Rex in Frankenstein...
Freedman climbs aboard an already overcrowded bandwagon with this catalog of gross-out goodies in Max the monster’s larder.
With characteristic disregard for exact rhymes or rhythm, the author lays out arrays of stomach-churning delicacies, from the titular sandwiches to “toenail scrambled eggs” and pickled worms: “He LOVES to glug slug milkshakes, / through a stinky hosepipe straw. / And as for beetle cookies— / he can ALWAYS munch one more!” In illustrations teeming with creepy crawlies, unidentifiable globs and grocery items like “Mice Krispies,” Max, a hairball tinted yellow-green and equipped with bicycle-horn ears, chows down with googly-eyed exuberance—until a final dish of Brussels sprouts sends him (as it does so many readers) shrieking from the room.
No more than a side dish next to the appetite-killing courses dished out by Shel Silverstein, by Adam Rex in Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich (2006) and by so many others. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-6196-3364-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Younger reluctant readers and recent early-reader grads alike will glory in this unlikely romp’s broad menu of...
Twins Sammy and Tammy save their town from not one, but two monsters loosed by a villainous land developer in this eco-themed muckfest.
Booted out of Boggy Marshes when real estate magnate Maximus Sneer begins draining the wetland’s water into an old quarry, Sammy and Tammy indignantly organize a public protest. This turns out to be less effective in squelching Sneer’s schemes than the newly re-hydrated frog monster that rises from the quarry and the 20-story-high mud monster that oozes up from the marsh’s thickened slime. After battling each other to a messy draw, Frogosaurus and the Bog Monster proceed to turn their attention toward terrorizing the tiny townsfolk—notably Sneer, whose sneers change to moans for his mommy. Quickly, the twins arrange a mass barbecue to fatally desiccate the former and enlist the fire department to hose the latter down into a mass of goo. Dr. Roach, a nattily attired insect, plays impresario for the all-action episode (more are on the way). It’s presented in short chapters of easily digestible narrative with black-and-white cartoon scenes on every page.
Younger reluctant readers and recent early-reader grads alike will glory in this unlikely romp’s broad menu of creature-feature clichés. (Fantasy. 7-9)Pub Date: July 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-42556-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
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