The Stanley family we all remember from Snyder's highly successful The Headless Cupid (1971) gets a year in Italy when stepmother Molly's expatriate uncle leaves her money that has to be spent there. Molly's 13-year-old daughter Amanda, just a little better adjusted to the new family arrangement than she was in her poltergeist days, continues to brag about her rich father; and as a result all five children are kidnapped though the culprits had only bargained for Amanda. She is despondent, sure that her father won't bother to rescue her, and the others are fearful that he won't be able to come up with the million-dollar ransom. When they hear that he is in Italy but can't raise the million, David, the oldest Stanley, is really worried, but Amanda, with this evidence of her father's concern, comes to life. Much of the story takes place in the kids' basement prison, where seven-year-old, bilingual Janle (the family genius) interprets for the masked kidnappers, guesses their identity, and—with a view to being so cute their captors can't possibly kill them—gets up a hilarious performance with herself acting out Juliet's death scene and the four-year-old twins following with the Mickey Mouse Club song. For their part David and Amanda stage a miracle, which does have the kidnappers wondering; but in the end it's Janie who saves them all. A lively, likable family adventure, a bit slow to hit its stride and not as ingenious as The Headless Cupid, but still crackling with the Stanley family's distinctive charm and energy.
Pub Date: Oct. 19, 1979
ISBN: 0440424852
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1979
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A playful, punchy paean to the pervasive poot.
What’s that smell? Oh how rude! But everybody does it.
“Grandmas fart. / Teachers fart. / Terrifying creatures fart. // Farting dancer. / Farting singer. / Farts when Dad says, ‘Pull my finger.’ ” Seems that everyone passes gas, but when it comes to Mom, she adamantly denies that she ever farts. Brothers and sisters, canaries and goldfish, dragons (those are fiery—watch out!) and horn players all toot. Even unicorns fart, and those come out rainbows! But mothers (at least according to Mom) do not fart. Mimes and clowns and chickens and bunnies are all guilty. “Breaking wind. / Cut the cheese. / Ninja farts are SBDs.” The rhythmic text rolls inexorably onward. “Farts that whisper. / Farts that roar. / Someone’s farting behind that door!” (You know who it is; caught you, Mom!) Goofily irreverent author and illustrator Kelley delivers the ultimate blast of gassy, honest humor with his whimsical, cheeky rhyme about the oft-denied panty whisper. The subject in itself will elicit giggles, and the ingenious, catchy, and simple rhyme will compound those. But it is the color illustrations, alternating between half-page and full-page, loaded with lifted legs, floating skirt-backs, bubbles in the water, and a diverse array of faces squinched up in effort (to deal) or disgust (in having been dealt on), that are utterly priceless.
A playful, punchy paean to the pervasive poot. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4549-1954-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
The unnatural history of a seed smaller than the others ("Will it be able to keep up. . . ?") that sails on while one, flying too high, is burned up by the sun (flames, yet) and a second "falls into the water and drowns." Once landed, the little seed's luck holds: it is invisible to the bird that eats another seed (though not to us), ditto the mouse wintering under the ground, and though it's a late-bloomer ("Hurry!") it doesn't stop growing until it overtops houses and trees to become "a giant flower." Comes fall it scatters its seeds to the wind, starting the cyclorama again. So scaled, the illustrations are gross in either sense of the word.
Pub Date: Sept. 21, 1970
ISBN: 0887080154
Page Count: 40
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1970
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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