by Robert Southey & illustrated by David Catrow ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1992
Oddly enough, Mordecai Gerstein's lovely, comical edition of this onomatopoeic poem—in which a poet laureate describes one of Britain's waterfalls to his children—came out just last fall. Catrow, a political cartoonist, brings a different style to his witty illustrations—his caricatured figures (who also careen down the falls with the poet's cascading verse) are depicted in more precise detail, contrasting with his idyllic impressionistic backgrounds. With humor that is broader and less gentle than Gerstein's, the flavor here is different enough to make an interesting contrast. Both books are worthy of purchase; if a choice must be made, Gerstein's art is more imaginative and more skillful and coherent as illustration. (Poetry/Picture book. 5+)
Pub Date: May 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-8050-1945-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1992
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by Robert Southey & illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein
by Josh Schneider & illustrated by Josh Schneider ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011
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
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by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
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by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
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by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
by Pete Seeger & Paul Dubois Jacobs & illustrated by Michael Hays ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2001
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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by Pete Seeger & Paul Dubois Jacobs & illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
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by Pete Seeger & Paul Dubois Jacobs & illustrated by Michael Hays
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adapted by Pete Seeger & illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin
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