Required reading for all children who have ever grumbled that "grownups get to have all the fun." Once they realize, through this litany, that "grown-ups have aches and pains. . . . can take out their teeth . . . snore . . . get headaches . . . wrinkles" and ". . . take a lot of pills," they may want to stay children forever. Adults are also "mean . . . rude . . . cheapskates" who "hate to pay their taxes" but "like to punish people." Steig moderates his venting in the full-page cartoons, rendered with characteristic simplicity; the grownups are seen as slightly foolish figures whose foibles amuse — or only slightly annoy — the children around them. Reductio ad absurdum, of course, and if the relentlessness of the mockery grates, the clever ways the illustrations elaborate on the generalizations should elicit a few chuckles. Even minor Steig is memorable. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-06-205080-X
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1995
No substitutes for more traditional renditions—but not spoiled by the alterations, either.
Chicken Little may not be “the brightest chicken in the coop,” but he’s definitely not the only birdbrain in this version of the classic tale.
In East’s cartoon illustrations, Chicken Little leads the familiar crew of feathered followers (including Henny Penny, who often is the one to take the acorn on the noggin in other versions) in a comically frantic dash to find the king. But so badly does the decidedly shifty-looking Foxy Loxy bungle the climactic nab that not only do the birds escape, but Foxy is trucked off behind bars while the king calms the kerfuffle by pointing to the perfectly intact sky. The fox does better in the co-published Gingerbread Man, illustrated by Miriam Latimer, as he gobbles down his sugary treat—after which the lonely bakers take all the other hungry animals home for a “fantastic feast” of cakes and pastries. In Rumpelstiltskin, illustrated by Loretta Schauer, though the scraggly-bearded little man only has to spin straw into gold for one night, Alperin mostly sticks to the traditional plotline and ultimately sends him through the floor and into the royal dungeon so that baby Hugo and his parents live happily ever after. The illustrations in all three of these uniform editions share traditional settings, all-white humans, and bright, simple looks. The retellings are aimed at younger audiences, though by cutting the cumulative language in Chicken Little and Gingerbread Man to a minimum, the author drains some of the distinctive tone and character from those folk tales.
No substitutes for more traditional renditions—but not spoiled by the alterations, either. (Picture book/folk tale. 5-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-58925-476-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Young Arnie regales his mother with a kitchen-table report on his first-grade trip to the aquarium—``The deadly squid can squeeze a whale juiceless!'' As in his Never Spit On Your Shoes (1990), Cazet's homey illustrations hilariously fill in details Arnie leaves out; held—barely—in check by their teacher and a host of parent helpers, the children (small animals in human dress, one speaking only Spanish) rattle on about the tanks and displays as they pursue their own concerns, their authentic-sounding comments and queries in square balloons. Though those accustomed to Cazet's usually sensitive brand of comedy may wince at the tank of big-nosed ``Gefilte Fish,'' there's plenty of less jarring humor here for readers of all ages. ``I'm glad you had a good day,'' Mom comments, and Arnie replies, ``I think the teacher did, too. She went home early.'' (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-531-05451-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1992
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