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ORSON BLASTS OFF!

Name: ORSON BLASTS OFF!
Author: Raúl Colón
ISBN: 0-689-84278-3

by Raúl Colón & illustrated by Raúl Colón ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2004

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A much-praised illustrator files a Chris Van Allsburg–style flight plan for his first solo outing. After his computer croaks and he’s finished jumping up and down, young Orson exchanges disgust for delight when his suddenly animate jack-in-the-box suggests a venture outside. “Outside? I don’t do outside,” is Orson’s first response—but soon he’s off on an eager trek to the North Pole, followed by a stormy sea voyage aboard an origami boat, and a quick tour of the universe in a cardboard rocket. The pictures take a front seat here, their combed surfaces and multiple color layers adding both a sense of motion and a dreamlike quality, while the brief all-dialogue text—in which Orson’s springy sidekick sounds remarkably like C-3PO: “Ten . . . this is madness . . . seven, six, five . . . madness, I say’—occasionally gives way to a wordless page or spread. Colón also tucks in some playful images, such as an actual pole at the North Pole, and a Big Dipper floating among the stars—all of which he feels compelled to explain at the end. Happily, this pedantic afterthought doesn’t sour the sweep and exuberance of Orson’s odyssey. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-689-84278-3

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Atheneum

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE PEANUT MAN
by Carmen Agra Deedy ; illustrated by Raúl Colón

- BOOK REVIEW
PASS THE BABY
by Susanna Reich ; illustrated by Raúl Colón

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LITTLE HOUSE OF HOPE
by Terry Catasús Jennings ; illustrated by Raúl Colón

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HOW I BECAME A PIRATE

by Melinda Long & illustrated by David Shannon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2003

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Thanks to parrot-toting Braidbeard and his gloriously disreputable crew, a lad discovers the ups and downs of a pirate’s life in this rousing mini-epic. His mom and dad busy on another part of the beach, young Jeremy happily joins a band of hook-handed, eye-patched, snaggle-toothed pirates aboard their ship, learning pirate table manners (none), enjoying a game of nautical soccer until a shark eats the ball, then happily retiring without having to brush teeth, or even don pajamas. But then Jeremy learns that pirates don’t get tucked in, or get bedtime stories, and as for good night kisses—Avast! Worse yet, no one offers comfort when a storm hits. So, giving over the pirate’s life, Jeremy shows the crew where to bury its treasure (his backyard), and bids them goodbye. Shannon outfits Braidbeard’s leering, pop-eyed lot in ragged but colorful pirate dress, and gives his young ruffian-in-training a belt and bandanna to match. This isn’t likely to turn pirate wannabees into landlubbers, but it will inspire a chorus of yo-ho-hos. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003

ISBN: 0-15-201848-4

Page Count: 44

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE CASE OF THE SLIDING SPACESHIP
by Melinda Long ; illustrated by Monica Wyrick

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW I BECAME A PIRATE
by Melinda Long & illustrated by David Shannon & developed by Oceanhouse Media

- BOOK REVIEW
PIRATES DON’T CHANGE DIAPERS
by Melinda Long & illustrated by David Shannon

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HOW TO CATCH A GINGERBREAD MAN

From the How To Catch… series

by Adam Wallace ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 3, 2021

A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound.

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The titular cookie runs off the page at a bookstore storytime, pursued by young listeners and literary characters.

Following on 13 previous How To Catch… escapades, Wallace supplies sometimes-tortured doggerel and Elkerton, a set of helter-skelter cartoon scenes. Here the insouciant narrator scampers through aisles, avoiding a series of elaborate snares set by the racially diverse young storytime audience with help from some classic figures: “Alice and her mad-hat friends, / as a gift for my unbirthday, / helped guide me through the walls of shelves— / now I’m bound to find my way.” The literary helpers don’t look like their conventional or Disney counterparts in the illustrations, but all are clearly identified by at least a broad hint or visual cue, like the unnamed “wizard” who swoops in on a broom to knock over a tower labeled “Frogwarts.” Along with playing a bit fast and loose with details (“Perhaps the boy with the magic beans / saved me with his cow…”) the author discards his original’s lip-smacking climax to have the errant snack circling back at last to his book for a comfier sort of happily-ever-after.

A brisk if bland offering for series fans, but cleverer metafictive romps abound. (Picture book. 6-8)