Top-drawer, absurd entertainment from two English masters of the droll. Bert is a victim—of the fates, of misunderstandings, of his two left feet—but he is also an agent of good, a man of pluck, ever an optimist. Bert’s a force, no matter how ridiculous. First readers greet Bert, then his wife, then his baby: “Meet Baby Bert. Don’t say hallo to him. He is fast asleep. Shh! Turn the page . . . quietly. WAAAAA! Oh no! Now look what you’ve done.” Then Bert has the first of his adventures, in a shirt that gets stuck on his head, making him fall down the stairs and out into the street and onto the bed of a truck that takes him to Scotland. He hitchhikes home in the rain. Forty-seven words in total and some of the broadest humor one could ever hope for, not to mention the color-pencil artwork that practically has readers falling down the stairs right along with Bert. The second adventure finds Bert being chased by a giant sausage and running smack into a lamppost (“Bert bangs his nose”) before he discovers it is only a man in a sausage suit, selling sausages. The last adventure has Bert diving into a river to save a barking box. (Bert, of course, can’t swim.) This is brilliant stuff: simple tales that unleash great ponderings, like Bert’s role in the universe. He could—believe it—be a savior of a sort. Bring us more Bert, please. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2001
ISBN: 0-374-30092-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2001
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A young boy wonders aloud to a rabbit friend what he will be when he grows up and imagines some outrageous choices. “Puddle stomper,” “bubble gum popper,” “mixing-bowl licker,” “baby-sis soother” are just some of the 24 inspiringly creative vocations Spinelli’s young dreamer envisions in this pithy rhymed account. Aided by Liao’s cleverly integrated full-bleed mixed-media illustrations, which radiate every hue of the rainbow, and dynamic typesetting with words that swoop and dive, the author’s perspective on this adult-inspired question yields some refreshingly child-oriented answers. Given such an irresistible array of options—“So many jobs! / They’re all such fun”—the boy in the end decides, in an exuberant double gatefold, “I’m going to choose… / EVERY ONE!”—a conclusion befitting a generation expected to have more than six careers each. Without parents or peers around to corral this carefree child’s dreams, the possibilities of being whatever one wants appear both limitless and attainable. An inspired take on a timeless question. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-316-16226-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2010
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