In the stylized voice of a storyteller, replete with old-fashioned comparisons and idiosyncratic syntax, Root (Contrary Bear, 1996, etc.) tells of Aunt Nancy's triumph over Old Man Trouble by pretending that all the bad luck he sends her way are really blessings. The story begins when Old Man Trouble dries up Aunt Nancy's spring and ends when he restores it, believing that he is ruining her stated run of good luck. When they part company, they're both pleased with the results. Root's text seems to take Aunt Nancy's side, while Parkins's art is more in Old Man Trouble's corner. One side of each spread features an elegant, black-and-white silhouette; the other has a large oil painting, realistically rendered but for the facial expressions and postures of the characters, which are closer to caricature. The motifs are familiar, the execution has life and wit, and the overall effect is captivating. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 1996
ISBN: 1-56402-347-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1996
T. Tamson Toad, whose comfortable home is pleasantly situated in a garden wall (``Though Mrs. Quimby did her share of the garden work, Mister Toad always called it his garden''), is troubled by his elderly neighbor's new cat—and by a queen bee who insists on moving in with her ``entourage.'' Resourcefully, he welcomes the bees and lets them bear the brunt of the cat's next visit—so that both leave him alone thereafter. Told with in economical style and whimsical turns of phrase recalling Beatrix Potter's stories, this 8-inch-square book has cleanly designed illustrations that present its hero's tidy home with loving care; Mister Toad himself, alert and debonair, might be a neighbor of Leslie Brooke's toad in A Roundabout Turn (1939). Charming. (Young reader/Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1992
ISBN: 0-02-792527-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
A good-natured rant against materialism. When Great-aunt Elsie Applebaum drops out of society, she leaves her possessions to a swarm of greedy relatives. No one is satisfied with any part of the legacy, until ``little Tilda-next-door'' gets hold of it. From broad hints dropped in the first few pages, readers will know that Tilda is the only one who understands Elsie and won't be surprised when she fashions the items into a magic traveling machine. Following a series of adventures, Tilda finds her own place in the sun, right next to Great-aunt Elsie. Whitcher (Real Mummies Don't Bleed, 1993, etc.) has poetic sensibility—``The guitar strings thrummed from the rush of flying,'' ``Fingers of fog reached and clung''—that she never overuses. At first the rather staid, even ordinary illustrations seem at odds with the text's rebellious message; soon they give rise to some grand images, especially in the fantastic latter-half of the book. A reunion of the creators of Moonfall (1993, not reviewed), this book builds to a satisfying close. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 16, 1995
ISBN: 0-374-37138-5
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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