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NOTHING EVER HAPPENS ON MY BLOCK

Name: NOTHING EVER HAPPENS ON MY BLOCK
Author: Ellen Raskin
ISBN: 0689713355

by Ellen Raskin & illustrated by Ellen Raskin ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 22, 1966

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Chester Filbert is the obverse of the little boy who saw it all on Mulberry Street. A dour faced little boy, he never moves from his crouch on the curb. Nor does he turn around to look at the too-familiar Victorian houses on his block which are precisely and geometrically outlined in black and white. Chester is sunk in a slough of boredom, a total inability to find anything interesting in his surroundings but completely convinced that everywhere else there is excitement. The roots of his ennui can be deduced—his house is austere, tightly shuttered, nobody there reacts to what is happening in the neighborhood, in fact the only person who emerges is a nursemaid who occasionally tries to call Chester inside. But in all the other houses and on the sidewalk and street, brilliantly colored people and things emerge and, as the pages are turned, an overlapping series of exciting near-tragedies and triumphs. The pictorial counterpoint to Chester's claim to dissatisfaction offers hours of diversion to children who will find themselves picking out first the obvious then the many minute details, each a complex narrative in itself, as well as a graphic illustration of the sort of atmosphere that can turn a little boy into an unnoticing nobody.

Pub Date: March 22, 1966

ISBN: 0689713355

Page Count: -

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: May 8, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1966

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WESTING GAME
by Ellen Raskin

- BOOK REVIEW
TWENTY-TWO, TWENTY-THREE
by Ellen Raskin

- BOOK REVIEW
THE TATTOOED POTATO AND OTHER CLUES
illustrated by Ellen Raskin

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TALES FOR VERY PICKY EATERS

by Josh Schneider & illustrated by Josh Schneider ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011

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Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)

Pub Date: May 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
ULTRABOT'S FIRST PLAYDATE
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

- BOOK REVIEW
KID AMAZING VS. THE BLOB
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERYBODY SLEEPS (BUT NOT FRED)
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

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CINDERELLA

From the Once Upon a World series

by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Sandra Equihua ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

A nice but not requisite purchase.

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A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.

Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.

A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)