The Morrisons, a family of friendly alligators (A New House for the Morrisons, 1993) are back, and this time they're off on a world tour. All three of them are excited on the way to the airport, but Mr. and Mrs. Morrison start complaining as soon as they get on the plane: ``Our seats are too small.'' In China there are too many tourists, France's food is strange, Russia is too cold, Egypt is too hot—the text is the litany of their complaints. Meanwhile, their son Albert doesn't say a word, but every line-and- watercolor scene shows him enjoying himself to the hilt, and therein lies the humor of this delightful book. On the plane Albert plays happily in the aisle, takes full advantage of the luscious dessert tray in France, skates in Russia, etc. In a final turn of events, Albert's parents, who have grumbled right through return customs, tell all their friends what a great trip they had. Text and illustrations work exceptionally well together; observant readers will find plenty of details to tickle them: the flying saucer taking off at the airport, an alligator-shaped Statue of Liberty, and more. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: June 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-670-87022-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
Fun enough once through, but not much more.
A pint-sized sleuth tracks a purple underground monster.
When Mom scrapes the family's uneaten spaghetti into the sink, young Sammy Sanders hears strange slurping sounds. He becomes "77 percent convinced" that a spaghetti-slurping serpent lives in his sewer, and can't get to sleep. The next morning, Sammy and his little sister Sally investigate. There are meatballs and strands of limp spaghetti around the manhole cover! Sammy, whose round glasses make the whites of his eyes look as enormous as an owl's, can barely contain his excitement. After he removes the cover, Sally slips on some sauce and lands in the sewer, becoming a smelly sludgy mess. Sammy's left to investigate alone and comes up with a brilliant idea. Late that night, he sneaks out of the house with a salty snack for himself and a bowl of spaghetti for the serpent. But he falls asleep, and the huge serpent slithers up to the scrumptious spaghetti. Slurping sounds startle Sammy awake; he's face-to-face with the monster. There's just one thing to do: Share! Sammy' salty snack earns him a friend for life. And that night, he sleeps soundly, 100% sure that there's a serpent in his sewer. Zenz's illustrations, in Prismacolor colored pencil, look generic, but Ripes' yarn has pace and phonetic crackle.
Fun enough once through, but not much more. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7614-6101-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2012
A gentle litany of good nights, ostensibly from various animals to their young ("It's time for bed, little mouse, little mouse,/Darkness is falling all over the house") but mostly more apposite to their human counterparts ("It's time for bed, little calf, little calf,/What happened today that made you laugh?"), ending, inevitably, with a human mother tucking in a child. Fox's couplets seem offhand compared to her best (e.g., Shoes from Grandpa, 1990); but some of Dyer's expansive double-spread watercolors are charming; their points of view are so close in that some animals appear life-size (the bees are oversize). Best are the shaggy, drowsy, contented ewe and her lamb; repeated on the jacket, they guarantee a constant audience for this appealing bedtime book. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-15-288183-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1993
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
