What’s a boy to do when his mother is a trapeze artist, she practices in the living room, and all he wants to do is watch TV with his friends? “Everyone calls my house The Big Top,” Carter (Under a Prairie Sky, not reviewed, etc.) begins. “Kids knock at the window, wanting to play. Today it’s Dan and Nisha, little Stuie holding his bear.” Fitzgerald’s (The Little Rooster and the Diamond Button, 2001, etc.) expressive watercolor vignettes depict the neighbor children with wide eyes; when they join the boy narrator in the living room, they look a little nervous. Meanwhile, the boy sits staring at the set. “Why can’t I have an ordinary mom?” he wonders as the children watch his mother’s moves. Despite her larger-than-life presence, Fitzgerald shows the mother only in shadow, inviting readers to imagine the graceful shapes she takes on her swing above the sofa. She comes into full view—albeit in the background—when the children discover the boy’s “Circus Costume Box,” and are transformed, literally, into an elephant, lion, and lion tamer. A series of wordless double-paged spreads depict the trio in action. However, the boy is transformed as well. While he initially opts out, he joins in the activity when he hears the children’s blasphemous plan to enter outer space (“A circus has cannons, not rocket ships”), upholding the integrity of the family business. The first-person perspective makes the telling slightly awkward, but the story may resonate with children who feel set apart from their peers, especially with an offbeat parent. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-55143-225-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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