All that’s missing are the recipes.
William might live in the land of fairy tales, but he just wants to cook.
More interested in pastries than princesses, William’s tried plying his culinary trade around the fairy-tale kingdom. At the Brick House (run by the Three Pigs), “the menu was too dangerous” (think Pot-o’-Wolf Stew). At Three Bears Bistro, the customers were too picky about the food’s temperature. And his stint at Gingerbread-on-the-Go ended in a footrace with the cookies. Setting out to acquire ingredients to cook from home, he finds a box addressed to Fairy-Tale Headquarters containing apples, beans, and a pumpkin. He decides to spruce up their menu and cooks a delightful dish with each—but Judy at headquarters and the fairy-tale folk who’d ordered the original ingredients for their tales are aghast. After reading the book of fairy tales they send him away with, William rushes back to see what’s happened. Snow White passed out after eating every one of his delicious baked apples, but the prince kissed her awake, so all’s well there. Jack traded the yummy bean soup for the giant’s castle, so that’s ended well also. But what can Cinderella do with a pumpkin pie? It works out happily ever after for everyone, especially William. Klostermann’s triple-twisted tale is a cute concoction that children familiar with the traditional stories will enjoy. Mantle’s bright, cartoon illustrations pair neatly with the text and propel the story with whimsical sight gags and charm to spare. Save a passing giant and a few of the dwarves, all the human or humanoid characters are white (or green).
All that’s missing are the recipes. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93232-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Donut miss this delightful diversion.
Squirrel pals go on a stealth mission to procure much-desired donuts in this charming intermediate graphic novel.
Norma and Belly are two brown squirrels who love tasty treats! When Norma burns their pancakes one morning, the two discover something even more exciting: a food truck dedicated exclusively to donuts! Determined to bring a sweet treat back for themselves and their squirrel friends, they approach the donut maker hoping to trade chestnuts for donuts only to be spritzed with water and shooed away. Undeterred, the duo recruit the bespectacled squirrel Gramps and Little Bee, a short squirrel whose profile looks like the letter B, for an incognito mission to steal the donuts they long for. They’ll have to overcome their small stature, an overenthusiastic donut machine, and their potential discovery by the donut maker in order to procure their tasty treats. A happy ending involving a new squirrel-invented donut flavor reassures readers that the owner of the donut truck doesn’t hold a grudge. Norma is a go-getter; her triangular-shaped head and body reflect her willingness to be a bit sharp to get the job done. Belly, thimble-shaped, is optimistic and conflict-averse. A natural color palette and watercolors that comfortably bleed outside thick black lines are fitting for this soft story and let the characters and dialogue shine.
Donut miss this delightful diversion. (Graphic fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-984895-83-7
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An engaging mix of gentle behavior modeling and inventive story ideas that may well provide just the push needed to get some...
With a little help from his audience, a young storyteller gets over a solid case of writer’s block in this engaging debut.
Despite the (sometimes creatively spelled) examples produced by all his classmates and the teacher’s assertion that “Stories are everywhere!” Ralph can’t get past putting his name at the top of his paper. One day, lying under the desk in despair, he remembers finding an inchworm in the park. That’s all he has, though, until his classmates’ questions—“Did it feel squishy?” “Did your mom let you keep it?” “Did you name it?”—open the floodgates for a rousing yarn featuring an interloping toddler, a broad comic turn and a dramatic rescue. Hanlon illustrates the episode with childlike scenes done in transparent colors, featuring friendly-looking children with big smiles and widely spaced button eyes. The narrative text is printed in standard type, but the children’s dialogue is rendered in hand-lettered printing within speech balloons. The episode is enhanced with a page of elementary writing tips and the tantalizing titles of his many subsequent stories (“When I Ate Too Much Spaghetti,” “The Scariest Hamster,” “When the Librarian Yelled Really Loud at Me,” etc.) on the back endpapers.
An engaging mix of gentle behavior modeling and inventive story ideas that may well provide just the push needed to get some budding young writers off and running. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2012
ISBN: 978-0761461807
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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