by Stephen Gammell & illustrated by Stephen Gammell ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2000
Gammell (Is That You, Winter?, 1997, etc.) plays to his artistic strengths in this twiggy, mud- and verdure-spattered friendship tale, but, whether by chance or design, leaves several aspects ambiguous. Given limbs, a tiny face, and a navel, Twigboy (who looks more like a breadstick, but let that pass) comes off as a weird combination of flesh and wood; similarly, his unlikely new buddy Rockwell more resembles a potato than a pebble. The two meet in Weedland; Twigboy escapes insect “Snackerpinchers” when Rockwell bowls past, then in turn drags his rescuer out of a slimy pond. After snacking messily on Granma Twig's Mud Pebble Pie, and almost getting caught in a wild storm, the two fetch up back on the edges of Weedland, where they are left gleefully plotting a spectacular re-match with its unsuspecting denizens. The messy exuberance of Gammell's illustrations is as enjoyable as ever, but the story, which cuts off abruptly and may or may not be all or partly told in flashback, will leave readers floundering. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-15-202137-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2000
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by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2013
Earnest and silly by turns, it doesn’t quite capture the attention or the imagination, although surely its heart is in the...
Rhymed couplets convey the story of a girl who likes to build things but is shy about it. Neither the poetry nor Rosie’s projects always work well.
Rosie picks up trash and oddments where she finds them, stashing them in her attic room to work on at night. Once, she made a hat for her favorite zookeeper uncle to keep pythons away, and he laughed so hard that she never made anything publicly again. But when her great-great-aunt Rose comes to visit and reminds Rosie of her own past building airplanes, she expresses her regret that she still has not had the chance to fly. Great-great-aunt Rose is visibly modeled on Rosie the Riveter, the iconic, red-bandanna–wearing poster woman from World War II. Rosie decides to build a flying machine and does so (it’s a heli-o-cheese-copter), but it fails. She’s just about to swear off making stuff forever when Aunt Rose congratulates her on her failure; now she can go on to try again. Rosie wears her hair swooped over one eye (just like great-great-aunt Rose), and other figures have exaggerated hairdos, tiny feet and elongated or greatly rounded bodies. The detritus of Rosie’s collections is fascinating, from broken dolls and stuffed animals to nails, tools, pencils, old lamps and possibly an erector set. And cheddar-cheese spray.
Earnest and silly by turns, it doesn’t quite capture the attention or the imagination, although surely its heart is in the right place. (historical note) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0845-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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by Ruth Spiro ; illustrated by Holly Hatam ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 16, 2021
Kids will enjoy the quirky visuals while appreciating the creative relationship of these two companions.
Two friends strengthen their bond when their gardening project needs more ingenuity than originally anticipated.
Maxine, a science-oriented little White girl with a pet goldfish, loves to read and make constructive gadgets. Her friend Leo, a little Black boy, also likes making things, though from an artistic perspective. Together they decide to carefully design a garden. Maxine creates a practical blueprint while Leo draws a colorful diagram. Both plans allow them to plot, dig, and plant a beautiful and expansive space that includes a pond for Milton, Maxine’s pet fish. After their produce begins to sprout, however, some unwanted visitors slink in to ravage the fruits of all their hard work. Oh, no—now they need a new idea to keep those critters away. An average scarecrow doesn’t do the trick, so the kids get to work and build a “critter-creeping, laser-tripping, disco-ball-blinking, tuba-tooting… / SUPER SPECTACULAR SCARECROW!” But it only makes things worse by loudly disturbing everyone but their animal invaders. Initial disappointment and failure lead to blame and argument and then remorse and apologies. Both Maxine and Leo realize that “it takes a long time to grow a garden…but even longer to grow a friend.” Hatam offers kids lots of minutiae to look at, including clever endpapers with comical one-liners (“Thyme to Turnip the Beet”). Her detailed, animated, vibrant drawings accentuate the drama and neatly depict the concluding message that celebrates compromise. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 62.7% of actual size.)
Kids will enjoy the quirky visuals while appreciating the creative relationship of these two companions. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-399-18630-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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