by Steven Kroll and illustrated by S.D. Schindler ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2010
A rainy day at school turns a dozen restless children into master storytellers. Students stare out the window at the falling rain in dismay, until the teacher suggests a game. Next thing you know, the students are sitting in a circle, crisscross-applesauce, and Jimmy begins an exciting story that begins with a Tyrannosaurus rex disrupting Saturday morning by crashing through the window. Ava picks up the thread, having the hungry dinosaur gobble up the family’s breakfast. And so around the circle it goes, to Susan and Roberto and Rusty and the rest. Jason ends it with a citywide search for the creature on the loose (and there’s a rib-tickling surprise on the final page). Schindler’s ink, gouache and watercolor illustrations are smile-inducing, extending the simple story visually. As the story continues, spread by spread, the next teller appears in a wavy-outlined inset on the bottom right, while the action described plays out across the spread, with lots of sharp teeth and debris to fill the scene. Listeners might be induced to create their own collective yarns after seeing this one. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5603-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2010
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by Stan Kirby & illustrated by George O'Connor ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 3, 2012
As Captain Awesome would say, this kid is “MI-TEE!” (Fiction. 5-8)
The town of Sunnyview got a little bit safer when 8-year-old Eugene McGillicudy moved in.
Just like his comic-book mentor, Super Dude, Eugene, aka Captain Awesome, is on a one-man mission is to save the world from supervillains, like the nefarious “Queen Stinkypants from Planet Baby.” Just as Eugene suspected, plenty of new supervillains await him at Sunnyview Elementary. Are Meredith Mooney and the mind-reading Ms. Beasley secretly working together to try and force Eugene to reveal his secret identity? Will Principal Brick Foot succeed in throwing Captain Awesome into the “Dungeon of Detention?” Fortunately, Eugene isn’t forced to go it alone. Charlie Thomas Jones, fellow comic-book lover and Super Dude fan, stands ready and willing to help. When the class hamster goes missing, Captain Awesome must don his cape and, with the help of his new best friend, ride to the rescue. Kirby’s funny and engaging third-person narration and O’Connor’s hilarious illustrations make the book easily accessible and enormously appealing, particularly to readers who have recently graduated to chapter books. But it is the quirky, mischievous Eugene that really makes this book special. His energy and humor are contagious, and his dogged commitment to his superhero alter ego is enough to make anyone a believer.
As Captain Awesome would say, this kid is “MI-TEE!” (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: April 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4090-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
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by Stan Kirby & illustrated by George O'Connor
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by Stan Kirby & illustrated by George O'Connor
by Elise Broach & illustrated by David Small ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 25, 2007
What if one day every merchant in town offered up, and indeed, insisted that shoppers take home a live dinosaur (free) with every purchase? That’s what happens to a boy and his mother in this sweet, absurd story that unfolds very much like a dream—or a nightmare, depending on the reader’s perspective on having a large dinosaur as a pet. In Small’s comical, wonderfully expressive watercolor-and-ink drawings, it’s easy to identify the mother’s reaction to the bonus triceratops (free with a dozen doughnuts); stegosaurus (from the doctor instead of stickers); and pterosaur (from the barber instead of the usual balloon): unmitigated horror, inversely proportionate to her son’s delight. The hulking beasts are irresistibly endearing, though, as they wait patiently, doglike, for their new owners outside all the town establishments and ultimately, once at home in the family’s backyard, prove their worth as household laborers, cleaning gutters and rescuing far-flung Frisbees. In the end, the boy’s friends bring their own newly acquired dinos over to his house for a poolside party—and he knows Mom has truly come around when she calls the baker for more doughnuts. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-689-86922-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2007
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by Elise Broach ; illustrated by Eric Barclay
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