Hudson claims, “Everything has a story.” And through his personal descriptions and musings over each artifact, he knows how...
In Rock’s debut picture book, an eccentric bulldog named Homer Henry Hudson collects “bits and bobs” from around the globe, displaying them floor to ceiling in his museum of curios.
Hudson takes great pride in his collection of riches, masterfully illustrated by Rock. These days, sidelined by an injury, this alliterative pooch keeps his museum “spick-and-span” and treats himself nightly to sushi dinner. He introduces museumgoers to his favorite exhibits, such as the Nóttlandian Stuffed Animal (a teddy bear), given as a token of gratitude from a young girl. Or his Humble Willow Root Cane, a twisted stick that mirrors his anguish at not being able to travel. But it’s his affection for the Manneken Mort of King Ingmar, a figurine wound with bands of the king’s life stories, that gets this bulldog wondering. Are his bands complete, or are there more? Rock’s illustrations are rendered in a subdued palette of watercolors, rich in earth tones and infused with touches of humble elegance. Young explorers will pore over the endpaper, title page and two-page spreads of museum space, drinking in each detailed treasure. Hudson’s droopy, liver-spotted mug is so realistic readers will want to scratch him behind the ears.
Hudson claims, “Everything has a story.” And through his personal descriptions and musings over each artifact, he knows how to tell a good one. (Picture book. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-56846-260-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
The story would have a real chance on its own merits without these really appallingly bad episodes. (Fantasy. 8-12)
Of course this will sell—as an E.B. White item and one that the publishers are pushing hard, playing it for an adult as well as a juvenile sale.
And that is where I think it really belongs, along with Robert Lawson's books, which reach children chiefly through adults. Thurber was another, but more justifiable on the score of a nice quality of whimsy, which Stuart Little—for me at least—lacks. This seems to me pseudo-fantasy, synthetic, and lacking the tenderness that makes a story such as Wind In The Willows wholly the children's own. Undertones and overtones of this story of a mouse in a human family are unjuvenile on all counts. The central story follows the make-believe as Stuart, complete with hat, cane, pin-striped trousers, and a stout heart, embarks on his small odyssey—a hairbreadth escape in a window shade (victim of a jealous cat), high seas exploits in Central Park, near tragedy in a garbage scow. Then comes the complete flop of the schoolroom episode and the romance.
The story would have a real chance on its own merits without these really appallingly bad episodes. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 1945
ISBN: 978-0-06-026396-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1945
PERSPECTIVES
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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