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
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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