A fetching story, perfect for budding artists and lovers of the funnies.
How young Sparky and Spike became the famous cartoonist Charles Schulz and his beloved creation Snoopy.
Sparky’s dog, Spike, white with black spots, is the “wildest and smartest dog ever.” He drinks from the bathroom faucet, fetches potatoes on command, and eats seemingly anything (razor blades!) without getting sick. He can tell time, letting Sparky’s father know on Saturday evening when it’s time to head to the drugstore for the Sunday funny pages. Sparky loves to draw cartoons. When his teacher predicts he will be an artist someday, Sparky is determined “not…to be just any artist—he is going to be a cartoonist.” When Sparky sends a letter about Spike to Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and it’s published in the Sunday comics along with his drawing of Spike, Sparky is inspired. And, indeed, as explained in the author’s note (which includes family photos of Sparky and Spike), Charles grew up to create “Peanuts.” In the illustrator’s note, Andreasen reveals that when he was a young boy he sent a drawing to Charles Schulz and got a personal reply (included in the backmatter) that inspired him, like Sparky, to become an illustrator. Andreasen does not try to emulate Schulz’s iconic style, instead rendering delicately hashed, fairly realistic cartoons, placing his mostly white cast on funny-pages–bright backdrops.
A fetching story, perfect for budding artists and lovers of the funnies. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)Pub Date: April 23, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-944903-58-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Cameron + Company
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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