by P.L. Conlan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2015
A book with charming characters weighed down by repetitive storylines and excessive exposition.
Three cats and their human companions explore the San Francisco Bay Area in these fanciful illustrated stories.
In her debut collection for children, Conlan, aka “The Flannel Cat,” weaves together seven interlocking tales of cats named Storm, November, and Roy, interspersed with famous poems, such as Carl Sandburg’s “Fog,” and whimsical, albeit inexpert, colored-pencil drawings. Each story offers particulars of the cats’ lives before they were adopted by “The Top Cat” (their human owner), and they effectively characterize each animal. Storm, for example, was visiting San Francisco with her family from Paris as a “young girl-cat,” when she got lost and ended up in a shelter; she still sings a French ditty whenever she’s nervous. November, or “Novy,” was a sickly kitten who now practices yoga and eats vegetarian foods—and passes gas a lot. Roy, or “Gray Wolf,” wandered away from his indigenous Pamo family, which taught him “how to survive in the wilderness—that was why he wore a backpack.” Together, the cats explore San Francisco’s Pier 39, almost fall off the Golden Gate Bridge, are treed by wild boars on Mt. Tamalpais, and ride trains and build sandcastles at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. By the middle of the book, however, the repetitious plotlines involving lost-and-found cats grow tiresome. The illustrations of cats in yoga poses and riding on roller coasters are inherently fun in their subject matter. However, the artwork itself seems unskilled, detracting from rather than enhancing the story. Excessive details about the history of each location slow the action and often read like a San Francisco Bay Area travelogue. By the final story, which devotes too much text to descriptions of a Honda Element and its license plate, readers’ attention will have wandered like an adventure-seeking feline’s.
A book with charming characters weighed down by repetitive storylines and excessive exposition.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4809-2009-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co.
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Pete Seeger & Paul Dubois Jacobs & illustrated by Michael Hays ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2001
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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by Janice Boland & illustrated by G. Brian Karas ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1996
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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