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MRS. MEYER THE BIRD

Name: MRS. MEYER THE BIRD
Author: Wolf Erlbruch
ISBN: 0-531-30017-X

by Wolf Erlbruch & illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1997

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This book is very nearly a piece of art, both in the tender, offbeat story and in the illustrations. Mrs. Meyer is a worrier and not just about the small stuff. She worries about whether a plane or bus will crash outside her house, if she'll have enough bandages and food for the victims, if they'll like her cake. Her disheveled husband, a carefree soul, tries to allay her fears, to no avail. Then Mrs. Meyer discovers a blackbird foundling in her garden, which brings new worries—``Had she fed Lindy the wrong bugs? Or was he really a small penguin?''—but at least they are earthbound. So is Lindy. In an effort to teach the blackbird its birthright, Mrs. Meyer climbs a tree and makes the ultimate sacrifice—she jumps. Luckily, Mrs. Meyer takes wing, and so does the bird. As the story goes its blithe, entertaining way, the accompanying artwork simply dazzles. Where appropriate, Erlbruch (Leonard, 1996, not reviewed, etc.) deploys a Motherwell gesture, or a delicate Chardin touch, all the while maintaining an informal tone. Little visual asides—Mr. Meyer dabbling in Japanese painting or origami—serve as serene but telling counterpoints. Splendid. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-531-30017-X

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orchard

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1997

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
I'LL ROOT FOR YOU
by Edward van de Vendel ; illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch ; translated by David Colmer

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BEAR WHO WASN'T THERE
by Oren Lavie ; illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch

- BOOK REVIEW
THE KING AND THE SEA
by Heinz Janisch ; illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch ; translated by Sally-Ann Spencer

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
PETE THE KITTY AND THE BEANSTALK
by James Dean & Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean

- BOOK REVIEW
PETE THE KITTY'S FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL
by Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean

- BOOK REVIEW
I LOVE PETE THE KITTY
by James Dean & Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Sucie Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1998

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Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)