A welcome addition to any folk-tale collection, this clever retelling and its warm, embracing illustrations demonstrate the...
A 21st-century update to Aesop’s enduring fable finds cousins City Mouse and Country Mouse spending time in each other’s locale to realize that they both prefer life at home.
Flowing acrylic-based gouache illustrations give this retelling a modern twist. Alternating between Mousetropolis and the countryside, the tale opens with City Mouse, who is annoyed with the incessant loud noise of the city. Receiving a letter from his cousin Country Mouse, City Mouse seizes upon the rural vacation opportunity. Although he lets loose at the farmhouse jamboree, City Mouse finds it hard to adjust to the eerily “quiet” surroundings. The food is different, the natural sounds and silences are creepy, and City Mouse can’t shake the feeling of being watched. They agree to a new plan. Country Mouse and City Mouse jump a train to the city. There’s dancing in the subways, ample food, and phalanxes of device-attached mice doing “important things”—and back home goes Country Mouse. Christie utilizes appealingly mouse-based language—“quicker than a mouse can nibble through a wheel of provolone”—to tell his story, and he carefully acknowledges the dangers of country life as well as those of the city. The illustrations effectively depict the dislocated mice’s subjective impressions of each setting; the tilt of an eyebrow communicates emotion.
A welcome addition to any folk-tale collection, this clever retelling and its warm, embracing illustrations demonstrate the enduring appeal of this classic tale. (Picture book/folk tale. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2319-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
Fun, silly stuffalo.
What will happen when a surly buffalo has his cover blown?
The book opens on a peaceful, sunny landscape dotted by trees, flowers, and a river. Turning the page, readers meet the Buffalo Fluffalo. The cantankerous creature glares fiercely at readers, his stylized, curly coat puffed out above small bovine feet. A ram, a prairie dog, and a crow each approach the Buffalo Fluffalo with overtures of friendship, but all receive—ahem—a “rebuffalo.” He responds to each with a gruff “I’m the Buffalo Fluffalo—/ I heave and I huffalo./ Leave me alone because/ I’ve had enuffalo!”—a refrain rendered in a large bold text. But after a torrential downpour, the Buffalo Fluffalo is drenched; his fluffy coat plastered to his body, he’s now a fraction of his former size. How will the other animals react? The rhythmic, rhyming verses take plenty of liberties with language and use lots of alliteration, resulting in a humorous read. Despite his aggressive stance, our protagonist is endearingly cross-eyed, and the art exploits the comedic potential of a character who hides behind a puffed-up appearance. Some may wonder why the other animals are working so hard to befriend such a relentlessly hostile character, but all the nonsense words and the complementary art are so appealing that readers will easily accept the sugary ending.
Fun, silly stuffalo. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593564530
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez,...
Abuela is coming to stay with Mia and her parents. But how will they communicate if Mia speaks little Spanish and Abuela, little English? Could it be that a parrot named Mango is the solution?
The measured, evocative text describes how Mia’s español is not good enough to tell Abuela the things a grandmother should know. And Abuela’s English is too poquito to tell Mia all the stories a granddaughter wants to hear. Mia sets out to teach her Abuela English. A red feather Abuela has brought with her to remind her of a wild parrot that roosted in her mango trees back home gives Mia an idea. She and her mother buy a parrot they name Mango. And as Abuela and Mia teach Mango, and each other, to speak both Spanish and English, their “mouths [fill] with things to say.” The accompanying illustrations are charmingly executed in ink, gouache, and marker, “with a sprinkling of digital magic.” They depict a cheery urban neighborhood and a comfortable, small apartment. Readers from multigenerational immigrant families will recognize the all-too-familiar language barrier. They will also cheer for the warm and loving relationship between Abuela and Mia, which is evident in both text and illustrations even as the characters struggle to understand each other. A Spanish-language edition, Mango, Abuela, y yo, gracefully translated by Teresa Mlawer, publishes simultaneously.
This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez, an honoree. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6900-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
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