A bejeweled caricature of a king, perfectly rotund and greedy, offers his daughter's hand in marriage to the suitor who can produce a stack of perfect pancakes. This parody of the way in which princess brides gain their spouses is full of familiar patterns and plotting, complete with a handsome young beau, Roderick, and an evil inventor, Maximilian. While poking fun at the fairy-tale genre, Wise (Ten Sly Piranhas, 1993, etc.) tells a laugh-aloud story about a king's breaking his promise to Maximilian, whose little black box spits out perfect pancakes. He promptly curses the kingdom, and not since Homer Price's doughnut machine has a wacky invention gone so splendidly haywire—a plethora of pancakes is the result. Egielski masterfully stretches the humor of the story, peopling the pages with pop-eyed Roy Gerrardlike characters engaged in convincingly ridiculous comedy just this side of wild. The Evil Inventor is a perfect Rumpelstiltskin figure, down to his skeleton cufflinks. Neither author nor illustrator neglects the happily-ever-after ending, in which Maximilian is shipped off to the moon, the king temporarily realizes his folly, and the princess gets her man. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-8037-1446-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1996
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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