In the tradition of Kevin Henkes’s Lily and Ian Falconer’s Olivia comes Willa, a young pig who has planned her career path. When Mr. Lane asks his class to write reports on their favorite careers, Willa finds a tutu, cuts out lots of stars, makes a pair of wings, selects the perfect wand, and fills a sack with fairy dust. She goes to school the next morning ready for anything, but her day does not go as planned. Even her best friend Jenny thinks Willa’s fairy princess antics are a pain, and Willa ends the school day in the Thinking Chair. But Willa proves herself a hero by pulling Jenny’s brother Sherman from the path of an oncoming car. The next morning everyone joins in a “thank you” party for Willa, the truly wonderful. Milord, author of excellent cultural activity how-tos, makes a spirited and welcome picture-book debut. Willa’s obsession, dejection, and eventual triumph are nicely communicated. This new pig on the scene more closely resembles Holly Keller’s Geraldine than Falconer’s star pig, but the watercolor-and-ink illustrations are active and sweet. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 21, 2003
ISBN: 0-618-27522-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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