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THERE’S A WOLF AT THE DOOR

Name: THERE’S A WOLF AT THE DOOR
Author: Zoë B. Alley
ISBN: 978-1-59643-275-8

FIVE CLASSIC TALES

by Zoë B. Alley & illustrated by R.W. Alley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2008

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A hungry wolf just can’t catch a break in these five loosely connected folktales. All are familiar, and amiably retold in large, sequential cartoon panels. Looking dapper in top hat and three-piece suit, the wolf first takes on three pigs (all of whom escape), moves on to the bored and foolish lad who cries “Wolf!” then is subjected to a fashion smackdown by Little Red Riding Hood. He unsuccessfully tries his luck again with the sheep under a woolen fleece snatched from Grandma’s house, and finally proves no match for seven hyperactive goslings whose mother has gone off on an errand. Readers drawn by the unusually large trim size and Alley’s animated, loosely posed figures will linger over the snappy dialogue (“ ‘I’ll teach you to be rude to my granny, you fake!’ screamed Rhonda, now clearly upset. ‘And did no one ever tell you not to wear white after Labor Day?’ ”) and almost feel sorry for the feckless predator—who is last seen eyeing a sign pointing toward Mr. McGregor’s garden and considering turning vegetarian. (Graphic folklore. 7-9)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-1-59643-275-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A PRINCESS IN THE PALACE
by Zoë B. Alley & illustrated by R.W. Alley

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ACOUSTIC ROOSTER AND HIS BARNYARD BAND

by Kwame Alexander & illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011

Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...

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Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.

Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW TO WRITE A POEM
by Kwame Alexander & Deanna Nikaido ; illustrated by Melissa Sweet

- BOOK REVIEW
AN AMERICAN STORY
by Kwame Alexander ; illustrated by Dare Coulter

- BOOK REVIEW
THE DOOR OF NO RETURN
by Kwame Alexander

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RED-EYED TREE FROG

by Joy Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999

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Bishop’s spectacular photographs of the tiny red-eyed tree frog defeat an incidental text from Cowley (Singing Down the Rain, 1997, etc.). The frog, only two inches long, is enormous in this title; it appears along with other nocturnal residents of the rain forests of Central America, including the iguana, ant, katydid, caterpillar, and moth. In a final section, Cowley explains how small the frog is and aspects of its life cycle. The main text, however, is an afterthought to dramatic events in the photos, e.g., “But the red-eyed tree frog has been asleep all day. It wakes up hungry. What will it eat? Here is an iguana. Frogs do not eat iguanas.” Accompanying an astonishing photograph of the tree frog leaping away from a boa snake are three lines (“The snake flicks its tongue. It tastes frog in the air. Look out, frog!”) that neither advance nor complement the action. The layout employs pale and deep green pages and typeface, and large jewel-like photographs in which green and red dominate. The combination of such visually sophisticated pages and simplistic captions make this a top-heavy, unsatisfying title. (Picture book. 7-9)