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THE DANDELION WISH

Name: THE DANDELION WISH
Author: Sandra Ann Horn
ISBN: 0-7894-6326-1

by Sandra Ann Horn & illustrated by Jason Cockcroft ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2000

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A dreamy and slightly surreal picture book with a truly odd visual kink. A boy and a girl, Sam and Jo, are playing in a field of dandelions on a languorous summer’s day. Sam tells Jo that if you blow all the dandelion seeds in one breath, your wish comes true—so they do, and it does. An incredible carnival appears, with a mermaid, a dinosaur, a pirate ship, the man in the moon, and a golden carousel. At night, there’s a bonfire and fireworks, and after the day’s events the two children are carried home by their parents. The next day in the dandelion field the magical carnival is gone, but a breeze comes by to lift all the dandelion seeds—and the children wish again. The illustrations are done in shimmering, summery colors and an impressionistic, almost pointillist, style. However, Jo, who is a light-haired child on the cover and in the first illustration or two, becomes a black-haired, African-British child later in the book. If this is a printing error, it’s an egregious one; if the producers changed their minds midstream about the ethnicity of Jo, they should have aimed for consistency. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-7894-6326-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: DK Publishing

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2000

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
BABUSHKA
by Sandra Ann Horn & illustrated by Sophie Fatus

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THE BEST CHEF IN SECOND GRADE

by Katharine Kenah & illustrated by Abby Carter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2007

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An impending school visit by a celebrity chef sends budding cook Ollie into a tailspin. He and his classmates are supposed to bring a favorite family food for show and tell, but his family doesn’t have a clear choice—besides, his little sister Rosy doesn’t like much of anything. What to do? As in their previous two visits to Room 75, Kenah builds suspense while keeping the tone light, and Carter adds both bright notes of color and familiar home and school settings in her cartoon illustrations. Eventually, Ollie winkles favorite ingredients out of his clan, which he combines into a mac-and-cheese casserole with a face on top that draws delighted praise from the class’s renowned guest. As Ollie seems to do his kitchen work without parental assistance, a cautionary tip or two (and maybe a recipe) might not have gone amiss here, but the episode’s mouthwatering climax and resolution will guarantee smiles of contentment all around. (Easy reader. 6-7)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-06-053561-2

Page Count: 48

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2007

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BEST SEAT IN KINDERGARTEN
by Katharine Kenah ; illustrated by Abby Carter

- BOOK REVIEW
THE VERY STUFFED TURKEY
by Katharine Kenah ; illustrated by Binny Talib

- BOOK REVIEW
FERRY TAIL
by Katharine Kenah ; illustrated by Nicole Wong

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SEE PIP POINT

From the Adventures of Otto series

by David Milgrim & illustrated by David Milgrim ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2003

Emergent readers will like the humor in little Pip’s pointed requests, and more engaging adventures for Otto and Pip will be...

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In his third beginning reader about Otto the robot, Milgrim (See Otto, 2002, etc.) introduces another new friend for Otto, a little mouse named Pip.

The simple plot involves a large balloon that Otto kindly shares with Pip after the mouse has a rather funny pointing attack. (Pip seems to be in that I-point-and-I-want-it phase common with one-year-olds.) The big purple balloon is large enough to carry Pip up and away over the clouds, until Pip runs into Zee the bee. (“Oops, there goes Pip.”) Otto flies a plane up to rescue Pip (“Hurry, Otto, Hurry”), but they crash (and splash) in front of some hippos with another big balloon, and the story ends as it begins, with a droll “See Pip point.” Milgrim again succeeds in the difficult challenge of creating a real, funny story with just a few simple words. His illustrations utilize lots of motion and basic geometric shapes with heavy black outlines, all against pastel backgrounds with text set in an extra-large typeface.

Emergent readers will like the humor in little Pip’s pointed requests, and more engaging adventures for Otto and Pip will be welcome additions to the limited selection of funny stories for children just beginning to read. (Easy reader. 5-7)