An artfully executed book with silly, absurdist humor that will electrify the imaginations of young readers.
In the Tenglins’ debut book, illustrated by Stalker, offbeat tales of whimsical characters are told through goofy, rhythmic poetry and equally eccentric illustrations.
The authors, a brother and sister, explore imagined worlds through harebrained humor in stories featuring goofy, original characters, including a vegetarian lion, monster ballerinas and a breakfast-making robot. Each loosely rhyming, upbeat poem ends with an offbeat punch line: “I’ve really been way much too lenient / Allowing them to live here rent-free, / But if I kick them out, I haven’t a doubt / They’ll just move to the back of my knee.” Stalker’s brightly colored, detailed illustrations pop on otherwise clean, white pages. Their slight creepiness giddily calls to mind Ren & Stimpy, as do the at times slightly gross descriptions of “Goat Pizza” with “slimy brown banana peels” and “underpants with a mildew crust.” Sensitive parents of young readers might also beware of slightly morose tales, such as “Pool Party,” the story of a boy who accidentally jumps into a pack of cannibals’ soup. Other tales, though, such as “Band Aid,” about a girl anticipating the pain of an adhesive bandage’s removal who is pleasantly surprised by the painlessness of the actual experience, offer warmhearted lessons for young readers. Similarly, “Molly McBing, best on the swing” uses humor to tell a cautionary, well-intentioned tale about swing safety. “Elevator to the Moon” and “Watermelon Seed” are simple tales of childhood imagination, while other poems, especially “Nose Race” and “Chimp Removal,” are purely nonsensical and likely to get a laugh. Slight variations in the placement of illustrations on each page match the rhythm of the poems, while the simple, clean presentation and readable typeface allow the neat, meticulous design to balance the absurdity and goofiness of the content.
An artfully executed book with silly, absurdist humor that will electrify the imaginations of young readers.Pub Date: Dec. 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9848951-1-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Cranial Egg
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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