Today’s kids will not be particularly shocked by the iconoclastic aspects of pop art, as was Lichtenstein’s contemporary...
The pop-art movement of the 20th century is revived in this modern compilation of works by Lichtenstein, who died in 1997.
Author Rubin has cleverly chosen works from three decades and put them together into a house-themed picture book for children, based around Lichtenstein’s “House 1,” a brightly painted aluminum full-size facade with playfully skewed perspective. Lichtenstein’s iconic cartoon-style illustrations of the rooms in the house (yellow is a favorite color) are interspersed with humorous details, such as three red fish in a bowl, a humungous hot dog, a slice of cherry pie, and objects from Roy’s studio. Speech bubbles and onomatopoeic words—“R-R-R-R-RING!” goes the telephone; there’s a “knock knock” at the door—will amuse young readers, and the cheery pop images with heavy, black outlines will have instant appeal for a range of readers. Even though there are no people in the book (aside from a disembodied white hand wielding a sponge), the tone is fun and friendly, and readers will feel welcome in Roy’s house. An author’s note gives a brief biography of the artist, and details of each featured painting are included in the backmatter.
Today’s kids will not be particularly shocked by the iconoclastic aspects of pop art, as was Lichtenstein’s contemporary audience, but his artwork has an enduring appeal . (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 7, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4521-1185-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
Fun enough once through, but not much more.
A pint-sized sleuth tracks a purple underground monster.
When Mom scrapes the family's uneaten spaghetti into the sink, young Sammy Sanders hears strange slurping sounds. He becomes "77 percent convinced" that a spaghetti-slurping serpent lives in his sewer, and can't get to sleep. The next morning, Sammy and his little sister Sally investigate. There are meatballs and strands of limp spaghetti around the manhole cover! Sammy, whose round glasses make the whites of his eyes look as enormous as an owl's, can barely contain his excitement. After he removes the cover, Sally slips on some sauce and lands in the sewer, becoming a smelly sludgy mess. Sammy's left to investigate alone and comes up with a brilliant idea. Late that night, he sneaks out of the house with a salty snack for himself and a bowl of spaghetti for the serpent. But he falls asleep, and the huge serpent slithers up to the scrumptious spaghetti. Slurping sounds startle Sammy awake; he's face-to-face with the monster. There's just one thing to do: Share! Sammy' salty snack earns him a friend for life. And that night, he sleeps soundly, 100% sure that there's a serpent in his sewer. Zenz's illustrations, in Prismacolor colored pencil, look generic, but Ripes' yarn has pace and phonetic crackle.
Fun enough once through, but not much more. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7614-6101-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2012
Skip it
This book wants to be feminist.
Princess Penelope Pineapple, illustrated as a white girl with dark hair and eyes, is the Amelia Bloomer of the Pineapple Kingdom. She has dresses, but she prefers to wear pants as she engages in myriad activities ranging from yoga to gardening, from piloting a plane to hosting a science fair. When it’s time for the Pineapple Ball, she imagines wearing a sparkly pants outfit, but she worries about Grand Lady Busyboots’ disapproval: “ ‘Pants have no place on a lady!’ she’d say. / ‘That’s how it has been, and that’s how it shall stay.’ ” In a moment of seeming dissonance between the text and art, Penny seems to resolve to wear pants, but then she shows up to the ball in a gown. This apparent contradiction is resolved when the family cat, Miss Fussywiggles, falls from the castle into the moat and Princess Penelope saves her—after stripping off her gown to reveal pink, flowered swimming trunks and a matching top. Impressed, Grand Lady Busyboots resolves that princesses can henceforth wear whatever they wish. While seeing a princess as savior rather than damsel in distress may still seem novel, it seems a stretch to cast pants-wearing as a broadly contested contemporary American feminist issue. Guthrie and Oppenheim’s unimaginative, singsong rhyme is matched in subtlety by Byrne’s bright illustrations.
Skip it . (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2603-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
