Once again, the team that created Buz (1995) and Jazper (1998) hangs imaginative, eye-catching art on a slight story line. The magical adventure begins when an old woman brings three balls with faces into an antique toy shop where a young boy helps his uncle after school. She claims that the balls are too much trouble for her and asks Rudy to look after them, giving him a gold whistle before she vanishes. Rudy discovers that the whistle controls the balls when they lure him into letting them out of their case for one far-fetched escapade in which they prevent a plane from crashing. Visually there’s much to recommend. The three retro-looking balls inflate into rotund rubber men in primary colors who bounce through and above the city and outside the boundaries of the paintings, with Rudy clinging to the blue one. The art is energetic, cheerful, and full of clever detail, and it’s especially appealing when the balls change shape to stop the plane and then reduce to their original size. Colorful endpapers reflect the toy store’s locale, and the typography is in an appropriately playful font, reminiscent of hand printing. Children can ponder further adventures, as Rudy seems to do when he purchases the balls on payday. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-06-026032-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2000
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
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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