MUCUMBER MCGEE AND THE LUNCH LADY’S LIVER

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MUCUMBER MCGEE AND THE LUNCH LADY’S LIVER

Name: MUCUMBER MCGEE AND THE LUNCH LADY’S LIVER
Author: Patrick Loehr
ISBN: 978-0-06-082330-6

by Patrick Loehr & illustrated by Patrick Loehr ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2008

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Tummy troubles persist in this tepid follow-up to Mucumber McGee and the Half-Eaten Hot Dog (2007). When Mucumber arrives late to the school cafeteria for lunch he finds that all the food has been passed out, save a single item. Though the lunch lady informs him that this plate of liver cake is a delicious dish, our hero isn’t sold on the idea. His sister tries to convince him that he’s been handed spleen to eat, and the smell can only be described as akin to “rotten cheese.” Readers will probably be unsurprised to find that when Mucumber actually tries the liver it proves to be a tasty treat. The rhymes are barely passable (“The lunch lady was watching. / Mucumber felt her stare. / He saw her grab her cleaver / and wave it in the air”) and the pictures provide the usual dense, dark fare seen in so many other macabre picture books. Still, it is difficult to dislike too heartily a book praising the taste and nutritious benefits of a foodstuff as repulsive as liver. Adequate but forgettable. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-0-06-082330-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2008

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
MUCUMBER MCGEE AND THE HALF-EATEN HOT DOG
by Patrick Loehr & illustrated by Patrick Loehr

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BUTTERFINGERS

by Dennis Reader & illustrated by Dennis Reader ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1991

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Benjamin Butters drops everything—balls, his toast, his goldfish, the eggs he's collecting, etc. But when (to everyone's consternation) ``Mom'' lets him hold his new baby sister, she's perfectly safe. This new British illustrator has a witty way with a pen, but the idea is overextended and the outcome not well developed. Still, kids may enjoy Benjamin's many comic mishaps, rather mercilessly caricatured in the lively illustrations. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 1991

ISBN: 0-395-57581-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1991

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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STONE SOUP

by John Warren Stewig & illustrated by Margot Tomes ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 1991

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Stewig changes the soldiers in this familiar story into a young girl and sets it in a framing tale whose beginning sounds like an updated, psychologically correct ``Three Little Pigs'': Grethel and her mother love each other but they're too poor to subsist, so Grethel decides to set out and try her luck. The central part of the story is close to Marcia Brown's version (1947), often verbatim. The whole reads, or tells, nicely—though the conclusion (```Now I know how to keep food on our table,' she mused,'' trudging home) is a rather abrupt and unconsidered solution to the original problem. Tomes's illustrations are outstanding: her familiar style depicting homely but appealing characters and a few carefully chosen details against plenty of white space is especially appropriate to this peasant tale; her humor is as gentle as her rich, soft colors. All in all, a pleasing new version of a popular favorite. (Folklore/Picture book. 4-8)