by Barry Yourgrau & illustrated by Neil Swaab ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2007
After trying his hand at a novel, Yourgrau returns to the format of his first NastyBook (2005), offering several dozen surreal mini-melodramas, most running only a page or two with the occasional typographic flight of fancy, deliberately lame poem or (one hopes) consciously ugly line drawing chucked in for variety. The author’s gift for bizarre premises is on full display: One child turns into a giraffe in the middle of her birthday party, another wonders why his father has taken to dressing up as the hind end of a horse, yet another wiggles his ears so vigorously that he takes flight. In other episodes, a diner starts falling apart piece by piece, an evil spirit takes up residence in a vending machine, two dweebs end their friendship after falling in love with the same imaginary dream girl and much, much more. Younger children looking for scary—but not too scary—tales and older reluctant readers will fall on Yourgrau’s latest with glad cries. (Short stories. 7-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-06-077676-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2007
Share your opinion of this book
More by Barry Yourgrau
BOOK REVIEW
by Barry Yourgrau & illustrated by Robert DeJesus
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Barry Yourgrau & illustrated by Tony Auth
by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Bee Willey ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2000
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
Share your opinion of this book
More by Meredith Hooper
BOOK REVIEW
by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Bee Willey
BOOK REVIEW
by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Stephen Biesty
BOOK REVIEW
by Meredith Hooper & illustrated by Stephen Biesty
by Henry Winkler ; Lin Oliver ; illustrated by Scott Garrett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2014
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.
Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.
Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.
An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-448-48239-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
Share your opinion of this book
More by Henry Winkler
BOOK REVIEW
by Henry Winkler ; illustrated by Dan Santat & by Lin Oliver
BOOK REVIEW
by Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver ; illustrated by Dan Santat
BOOK REVIEW
by Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver ; illustrated by Ethan Nicolle
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.