An elegant, timeless treatment for all those best beloved
A sunset-colored cover beckons readers to a newly illustrated edition of the classic collection.
The wraparound jacket presents a surreal dreamscape that encapsulates the transformations Kipling describes in his stories. On the back, a humpless camel and short-nosed elephant enjoy a moonlit dip, while their reflections reveal hump and trunk; on the front, a short-legged kangaroo, smooth-skinned rhino and spotless leopard likewise appear above their transformed reflections. Within, readers will find six of Kipling’s tales: “How the Whale Got His Throat”; “How the Camel Got His Hump”; “How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin”; “How the Leopard Got His Spots”; “The Elephant’s Child”; and “The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo.” Each story is illustrated with four luminous, full-color paintings, most occupying a single page in the manner of old-fashioned color plates. Also like color plates, the specific scene illustrated is indicated with a representative selection from the text. Wallace invests each scene, including the humorous ones, with poetic gravitas and refrains from anthropomorphizing his animal characters. Herons scattering above the Elephant’s Child, nose clutched tight in the Crocodile’s maw, indicate his very real danger; the Ethiopian solemnly marks the Leopard’s coat with his fingers. An illustrator’s note explains the genesis of the book and his artistic approach to each individual story. Volume 2, completing the collection, is due out in spring 2014.
An elegant, timeless treatment for all those best beloved . (Short stories. 5 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55498-212-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts.
What terrors lurk within your mouth? Jasper Rabbit knows.
“You have stumbled your way into the unknown.” The young bunny introduced in Reynolds and Brown’s Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, Creepy Carrots (2012), takes up Rod Serling’s mantle, and the fit is perfect. Mimicking an episode of The Twilight Zone, the book follows Charlie Marmot, an average kid with a penchant for the strange and unusual. He’s pleased when his tonsils become infected; maybe once they’re out he can take them to school for show and tell! That’s when bizarre things start to happen: Noises in the night. Slimy trails on his bedroom floor. And when Charlie goes in for his surgery, he’s told that the tonsils have disappeared from his throat; clearly something sinister is afoot. Those not yet ready for Goosebumps levels of horror will find this a welcome starter pack. Reynolds has perfected the tension he employed in his Creepy Tales! series, and partner in crime Brown imbues each illustration with both humor and a delicate undercurrent of dark foreshadowing. While the fleshy pink tonsils—the sole spot of color in this black-and-white world—aren’t outrageously gross, there’s something distinctly disgusting about them. And though the book stars cute, furry woodland creatures, the spooky surprise ending is 100% otherworldly—a marvelous moment of twisted logic.
Extraordinary introductory terror, beautiful to the eye and sure to delight younger horror enthusiasts. (Early chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781665961080
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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