A one-trick pony—and the trick’s not all that great.
The Norwegian illustrator of My Father’s Arms Are a Boat (2013) pokes a pencil-sized hole through both covers and all 64 pages of this outing—but then doesn’t do much with it.
In very plain, nearly wordless line drawings with pale monochromatic highlights, Torseter depicts a cartoon figure (a lanky creature with a face like a hippo) who spots the hole in the wall of his new apartment. He chases it as it “moves” through various rooms and then plunks it in a box. He proceeds to “carry” it through a long sequence of city scenes—it does duty as sign lettering, wheels, eyes, lights and other items—to a laboratory, where it’s shoved into a drawer. The figure then walks obliviously home as the hole follows through the sky and ends up back in its original position on the apartment wall. Though the hole may take a moment to spot in some scenes, it is too small to have any significant visual impact. Nor, in contrast to the one in Hervé Tullet’s The Book with a Hole (2011) and other similarly pierced titles, is it placed or decorated in ways that will spark imaginative play or lead viewers to fresh considerations of their own surroundings.
A one-trick pony—and the trick’s not all that great. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59270-143-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2013
Rosenberry's three recent books (Vera Runs Away, 2000, etc.) about an irrepressible little girl named Vera have an undeniable charm with a unique main character, believable illustrations, and strong plot lines. Unfortunately, Vera isn't present in this latest offering, replaced by a nameless little boy who lacks Vera's spunk, and in fact, lacks much personality at all. The boy tours his backyard garden, observing and describing ordinary animals and insects camouflaged in their own particular environments. On the last double-page spread (and on the cover), the boy himself is camouflaged in a pole tent of green bean vines, providing a mildly surprising answer to the question posed in the title. The uninspired text plods through the garden on flat feet, alternating between straightforward descriptions of the garden inhabitants and rather confusing second-person commands to continue exploring in different ways. Rosenberry plays with unusual perspectives in her illustrations, which result in the boy sometimes looking two feet tall and two years old. Her watercolors of flora and fauna are pretty, but the little boy's age, facial features, and hair are not uniform throughout the book. The boy also looks rather bored, an effect that is likely to be shared by children listening to this story. Wait for Vera's next adventure. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 15, 2001
ISBN: 0-8234-1529-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2001
A toy rabbit has an unexpected forest adventure. Little girl Ruby is scared of the woods, but Daddy reassures her that he'll keep her safe. Snugly bundled up and with stuffed bunny Rabby riding in her hood, Ruby goes through the gate to the woods, all golden leaves, with Daddy. Ruby is frightened when she sees a fox chasing rabbits, but Daddy explains that foxes need to catch rabbits for food. Ruby and Daddy are so busy talking that they don't see that Rabby has been snagged out of the hood and dangles from a branch. Before long, Foxy is after the toy (who wears a hooded coat that matches Ruby's), but, when he catches up to Rabby, something surprising happens. Coplestone’s lovely double-page watercolor spreads provide a wordless subtext in which Foxy and Rabby’s interaction is overdubbed by Daddy and Ruby's oblivious conversation, to sweetly humorous effect. Jones's book begins as a traditional "message" story but delights with a fantasy twist and a subtler bit of wisdom. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84507-956-7
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2010
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