by Claudia Mills & illustrated by Catherine Stock ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 19, 1997
The relationship between seven-year-old Gus and his buddy, Grandpa, is at the core of the first of a proposed series of easy readers from Mills (Losers, Inc., p. 144, etc.). Each of three short episodes about ordinary events stands alone, but they are neatly tied together at the end. ``The Great Dog Trainer'' is a mildly humorous tale of Gus's short-lived fantasy to turn his dog, Skipper, into a circus act. In ``The Lost Car,'' Grandpa and Gus go shopping and emerge to find the car ``missing''—they've forgotten where they parked. The gifts they exchange in ``The Birthday Party'' come with winks that only they understand. One-syllable words and short sentences mark this out for the genre and the genial watercolor illustrations are a welcome break from the cartoon drawings usually associated with the formula. The characters interact with real warmth, but they are bland, lacking the personality of most of Mills's characters, and without any of the sparkle of Henry and Mudge. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: March 19, 1997
ISBN: 0-374-32824-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1997
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by Claudia Mills ; illustrated by Grace Zong
adapted by Rachel Isadora & illustrated by Rachel Isadora ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2008
Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-399-24772-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008
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by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora
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by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora
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by Rachel Isadora ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora
by Helen Ketteman & illustrated by James Warhola ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1997
A Cinderella parody features the off-the-wall, whang-dang Texas hyperbole of Ketteman (The Year of No More Corn, 1993, etc.) and the insouciance of Warhola, who proves himself only too capable of creating a fairy godcow; that she's so appealingly whimsical makes it easy to accept the classic tale's inversions. The protagonist is Bubba, appropriately downtrodden and overworked by his wicked stepdaddy and loathsome brothers Dwayne and Milton, who spend their days bossing him around. The other half of the happy couple is Miz Lurleen, who owns ``the biggest spread west of the Brazos.'' She craves male companionship to help her work the place, ``and it wouldn't hurt if he was cute as a cow's ear, either.'' There are no surprises in this version except in the hilarious way the premise plays itself out and in Warhola's delightful visual surprises. When Lurleen tracks the bootless Bubba down, ``Dwayne and Milton and their wicked daddy threw chicken fits.'' Bubba and babe, hair as big as a Texas sun, ride off to a life of happy ranching, and readers will be proud to have been along for the courtship. (Picture book/folklore. 6-8)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-590-25506-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1997
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by Helen Ketteman ; illustrated by Bonnie Leick
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by Helen Ketteman ; illustrated by Nate Wragg
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by Helen Ketteman ; illustrated by Will Terry
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