“Imagine a town, in a country, where a simple thing like an Elephant had never been seen, or even heard of . . .” Husband-and-wife collaborators Robinson and Windham do just that in this thoroughly modern tale steeped in Old World tradition. A mix between The Blind Men and the Elephant and The Boy Who Cried Wolf, the story centers on the attempts by the village innocents to name the animal. The elephant’s enormous size leads the Train Driver to believe he’s a railway engine; the Fireman mistakes the creature’s nose for a hose; and the Dustman declares him a vacuum cleaner. Rendered in dusky country hues, Windham’s humorous vignettes picture the possibilities. A sketch of the elephant inflated (“He is a modern type of refuse collecting machine) is especially amusing. Only Eric (“a little boy who was seven and three quarters and known locally for telling Tall Stories”) knows the truth. Trouble is, no one will listen. When the townspeople send the Elephant to be examined by the Professor, Eric goes along for the ride. Here, banners frame the page. One shows a scientific diagram of the elephant; Bunsen burners, beakers, and test tubes make up the other. Turns out, naming the elephant is a test for the professor too; it’s only with Eric’s help that he remembers the word. Robinson’s droll narrative—which draws on time-honored tales to create an altogether fresh text—is perfectly balanced by Windham’s whimsical illustrations. This one’s a good bet for read-aloud fun; older audiences will likely appreciate Robinson’s skillful yarn-spinning. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-58234-769-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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