The art of optical illusions provides creative fodder for young guessing-game enthusiasts. In this modern twist on a classic form, two unseen characters’ cheerful banter provides clues to an unknown object’s identity. Each tries to persuade the other to see his or her version of the picture; their interactions’ brevity provide a subtle charm. “Here, look at my duck through my binoculars.” “Sorry, still a rabbit.” The central character in this slight story is Lichtenheld’s ink, watercolor and colored-pencil art. Two laid-back, parallel rabbit ears—or a duck’s bill depending on the reader’s focus—serve as the dominant image against the soft blue background, occupying the center of the composition even as its context changes. Thick black outlines perfectly complement the solid illustration within; its observant single eye seamlessly appears to look in opposite directions. The images displayed are also reflected in the endpaper’s billowy clouds, providing a whimsical touch. Once youngsters solve this puzzle, they’ll be clamoring for the next. Now is that a brachiosaurus or an anteater? (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8118-6865-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
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)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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