THE TRIAL OF CARDIGAN JONES

by Tim Egan & illustrated by Tim Egan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2004

Only hints of the deadpan humor that made Egan’s Serious Farm (2003) and other tales so droll come through here. The pie on Mrs. Brown’s windowsill vanishes after witnesses see Cardigan the moose stop for a sniff. The matter comes to trial and Cardigan is declared guilty by everyone except the judge, who not only points out the lack of direct evidence, but, after Cardigan moves about the courtroom knocking over a statue, getting tangled up in a flag, and even upending the judge with his antlers, moves the court over to Mrs. Brown’s, where pieces of the pie are still visible in the bushes. It now being obvious what happened, Cardigan is fêted by his contrite former accusers. But as Cardigan’s antlers in the sedate, James Marshall–esque pictures are rather dainty, and sometimes not even placed near whatever they’ve just supposedly knocked into, the joke doesn’t carry over into the art. Not Egan at his best, though this may have some potential as a discussion starter on the idea of “innocent until proven guilty.” (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-618-40237-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
DODSWORTH IN TOKYO
by Tim Egan ; illustrated by Tim Egan

- BOOK REVIEW
DODSWORTH IN ROME
by Tim Egan & illustrated by Tim Egan

- BOOK REVIEW
DODSWORTH IN NEW YORK
by Tim Egan

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DIARY OF A SPIDER

by Doreen Cronin & illustrated by Harry Bliss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2005

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The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005

ISBN: 0-06-000153-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
LAWRENCE & SOPHIA
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Brian Cronin

- BOOK REVIEW
MAMA IN THE MOON
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Brian Cronin

- BOOK REVIEW
LAWRENCE & SOPHIA
by Doreen Cronin ; illustrated by Brian Cronin

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)