Despite generic prose and plot, Martha the Pig contains at least a smile or two.
A mischievous pig gets into all sorts of trouble in a mildly amusing animal fantasy.
Martha begins life ignominiously as the runt of the litter. Her brothers and sisters push her aside at mealtimes, further stunting her growth and deepening her hunger. But Aunt Kate is quick to notice that Martha isn’t growing as a healthy pig should. The kind-hearted woman takes a shine to Martha and begins hand-feeding her plump pink shrimp while the others are left to plow through an unsavory blend of scraps and leftovers. Simple humorous illustrations include an obvious nod to Charlotte’s Web: Martha stands in the barnyard door, a spider’s web stretched across one corner. But any similarities between Vosper’s Martha and the children’s classic end here. The adorable hot pink pig depicted in illustrations of baby Martha soon gives way to portraits of a big, bossy and remarkably less-adorable hog. Martha’s antics soon get her into trouble with her fellow farm animals and the doting Aunt Kate. Tom the Turkey doesn’t appreciate Martha’s merciless teasing; she constantly pesters him by pulling at his tail feathers with her teeth. Nor is Aunt Kate impressed with the once vulnerable Martha after the pig goes on a rampage and ruins her backyard party. Aunt Kate’s crime? She forgot to feed Martha her customary shrimp dinner in the frenzy of preparations. A subsequent scene in which Martha attacks a grumpy bull by grabbing at his throat is particularly jarring and inappropriately violent for the book’s intended audience of preschool readers. Why Martha’s destructiveness and selfishness are tolerated for so long is unclear; her behavior toward the other barn animals is, for the most part, so mean-spirited that there is little to endear her to the reader.
Despite generic prose and plot, Martha the Pig contains at least a smile or two.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 17.99
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Florian’s seventh collection of verse is also his most uneven; though the flair for clever rhyme that consistently lights up his other books, beginning with Monster Motel (1993), occasionally shows itself—“Hello, my name is Dracula/My clothing is all blackula./I drive a Cadillacula./I am a maniacula”—too many of the entries are routine limericks, putdowns, character portraits, rhymed lists that fall flat on the ear, or quick quips: “It’s hard to be anonymous/When you’re a hippopotamus.” Florian’s language and simple, thick-lined cartoons illustrations are equally ingenuous, and he sticks to tried-and-true subjects, from dinosaurs to school lunch, but the well of inspiration seems dry; revisit his hilarious Bing Bang Boing (1994) instead. (index) (Poetry. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-202084-5
Page Count: 158
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
Anna may learn to laugh with, instead of at, Grey, but the constant lampooning leaves the reader numb.
Can a young, preternaturally successful corporate executive overcome his 50 shameful secrets to find true love?
Andrew Shaffer (Great Philosophers who Failed at Love, 2011), writing as Merkin, skewers both E. L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey and Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight in his debut novel. Both series are certainly ripe for parody, yet Shaffer misses a real opportunity by indulging in easy, crude jokes, rather than incisive satire. Shaffer’s Anna Steal, like James’ Anastasia Steele and Meyer’s Bella Swan, suffers from a relentless interior monologue. Unfortunately, she offers little in the way of thought or advice, but instead wonders how elevators work and gulps in awe of Mr. Grey. Anna meets Grey while interviewing him for Boardroom Hotties, the magazine her too-often-hung-over roommate writes for, and the attraction is instantaneous. Grey quickly seeks to acquire Anna, dazzling her with his wealth by purchasing Wal-Mart just to give her the afternoon off for a date, buying Washington State University just to relieve her of taking tests, flying her about in his fighter jets and helicopters, ordering two of everything on the room-service menu, and whisking her away to a private island. Yet Grey has “dangerous” secrets. Unlike Edward Cullen, who was a lethal vampire, or Christian Grey, who sought the perfect submissive for his domination, Earl Grey indulges in rather tame danger. His secrets include a fondness for spanking, swimming in silver thongs, dressing up as an elf, and decorating with black velvet paintings. Warning Anna about his kinky sexuality, he introduces her to his Room of Doom, where they play Bards, Dragons, Sorcery and Magick. More a Master of Dungeons and Dragons than BDSM, Grey shocks Anna not with his deviance but his self-delusions.
Anna may learn to laugh with, instead of at, Grey, but the constant lampooning leaves the reader numb.Pub Date: July 31, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-306-82199-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Da Capo
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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