Bearing a pole and a pack, Miss Heiferton arrives in time to draw then tenth and last turn for the moon-jumping contest. With Angus Le Boeuf presiding, nine other cows make the attempt: Lady Bovine uses a trampoline; Creamella tries homemade wings, and so on, the diminishing row of contestants looking on. None of the amusingly elaborate contrivances works as planned: Dairy Lee's rubber-band helicowpter unwinds too soon; Mary La Moo's mootorcycle stalls. Then Miss Heiferton vaults triumphantly aloft with her simple pole, while her pack turns out to be a parachute to waft her down: ``I want to thank my pole for its support and the moon for being there.'' Brown brings a promising amount of imagination and ingenuity to her first book. In some ways it's over-contrived (the puns are fun, but the verse limps, and kids learning to count to ten aren't going to get some of the sophisticated wordplay) and under-meticulous (if the cows have names like ``Aberdeen,'' ``Angus,'' and ``Jersey,'' they shouldn't all look like Guernseys)—but the idea is unusual, and the brightly colored, nicely designed illustrations have a merry verve. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-670-84237-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1992
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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