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
A loving tribute to problem-solvers, quarrel menders, and peacemakers.
A solitary mail carrier brings more than just letters to a forest community.
From early morning to shadowy twilight, an aging, bespectacled letter carrier—depicted in Montero Galán’s forest scenes as a portly, uniformed badger on a bike—quietly delivers to the forest’s burrows, dens, and nests. The notes—all typed and printed in boxes to separate them from the narrative text—offer complaints, apologies, reconciliations, or offers of friendship between animal neighbors. Hedgehog apologizes to Squirrel for an accidental jab, and Squirrel suggests in return having dinner together and a nice chat; Woodpecker’s tapping keeps Dormouse up, and Woodpecker replies with a promise to find another tree; Rabbit would love to join Bear in the pond but is afraid of water, so Bear offers a back to climb on, “just as if I were a big old boat.” At day’s end the weary letter carrier goes home…to spend the evening typing out the very letters he’s delivering. Then one day he finds a letter in his bag addressed to him. It’s a thank-you note from the animals, who follow it up by gathering that night to heap him with appreciation. Emotionally, Montero Galán begins the letter carrier’s tale with an orangey-red dawn and ends with a rosy-red candlelit scene. Although daytime scenes are dominated by blue skies and green grass, the artist unifies the palette throughout with such touches as the red wings of butterflies and red, autumnal leaves on the trees. The effect is to suffuse the pages with warmth.
A loving tribute to problem-solvers, quarrel menders, and peacemakers. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-84-16147-98-4
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In this comfortably predictable variation on the “obnoxious guest” theme, a household consisting of one woman, Irene, and a whole lot of dogs, cats and other pets welcomes—at first—a shivering duck named Max who decided to stay behind when the rest of his flock migrated for the winter. Soon commandeering both the TV remote and the kitchen, Max has definitely outstayed his welcome by spring—but the general relief at his parting turns to boredom, and then to brief delight followed by dismay when he shows up at the doorstep again that autumn with dozens of fellow ducks. In fluidly drawn cartoon scenes, Urbanovic strews a spacious domestic setting with a multi-species array of individualized residents living in more or less peaceful coexistence. In contrast to their panic, Irene responds calmly to the climactic incursion, offering Max a hug and a warm greeting. There’s more comedy, not to mention a sense of closure, in Sandy Asher’s similar Too Many Frogs!, illus by Keith Graves (2005), but the big-hearted open-door policy here will appeal to a wide range of readers. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-06-121438-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2006
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