A sweet, whimsical tale set in one of Britain's uglier mill towns. As a girl, Bessie gets to know neighbor Mrs. Leaf when the old woman invites her to tea and tells her fascinating things about magic (``Have you ever had a magic moment? A summer afternoon when the sky's so warm the world stops...'') and the fairies (``Why, even I might be a fairy''). Bessie soon learns better than to share these revelations with her friends, but she treasures them. As Bessie grows up, marries, is widowed, and is finally old herself, Mrs. Leaf (now called Daisy) grows correspondingly younger until their appearances have reversed. ``Maybe old friends never notice the changes in each other.'' There's an evanescent meaning here, not to be pinned down but still as real as imagination. Ross, whose art often serves boisterous hilarity, extends his range with evocative glimpses of the dreary factory town and the course of the long, poignant friendship. Touching and unusual. (Young reader/Picture book. 4- 10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-316-75750-0
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1992
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Sweet, good-hearted fun.
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A recovering curmudgeon narrates life lessons in the latest entry in the punny Food Group series.
Grape wasn’t always sour, as they explain in this origin story. Grape’s arc starts with an idyllic childhood within “a close-knit bunch” in a community of “about three thousand.” The sweet-to-sour switch begins when Grape plans an elaborate birthday party to which no one shows up. Going from “sweet” to “bitter,” “snappy,” and, finally, “sour,” Grape “scowled so much that my face got all squishy.” Minor grudges become major. An aha moment occurs when a run of bad luck makes Grape three hours late for a meetup with best friend Lenny, who’s just as acidic as Grape. After the irate lemon storms off, Grape recognizes their own behavior in Lenny. Alone, Grape begins to enjoy the charms of a lovely evening. Once home, the fruit browses through a box of memorabilia, discovering that the old birthday party invitation provided the wrong date! “I realized nobody’s perfect. Not even me.” Remaining pages reverse the downturn as Grape observes that minor setbacks are easily weathered when the emphasis is on talking, listening, and working things out. Oswald’s signature illustrations depict Grape and company with big eyes and tiny limbs. The best sight gag occurs early: Grape’s grandparents are depicted as elegant raisins. The lessons are as valuable as in previous outings, and kids won’t mind the slight preachiness. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sweet, good-hearted fun. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-304541-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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