Anansi the Trickster meets the Sorcerer’s Apprentice in this story loosely based on a Liberian folktale. While the other animals are busy tending their gardens and cleaning their homes, Anansi is sleeping. But when they tease him for being lazy, he says he is hard at work thinking and will have to find a new place to sleep, that is to think, for all the noise they are making. What he finds is Hyena’s house, which is always neat and tidy, no matter how Hyena sleeps away the day. Spying on him, Anansi sees Hyena recite some magic words to a stick, which then does his chores for him. The sly spider decides that this stick could help keep his neighbors from laughing at him for his poor housekeeping. All goes well for a time until he decides to have the stick tend his garden. When he falls asleep, the overzealous stick is watering the garden. Without Anansi to stop it, the stick’s watering goes from a trickle, to a flood, to a river, in which all the animals are swept away. Unable to remember the magic words, Anansi loses the stick to Hyena and must go back to thinking up new tricks. Children will delight in Anansi’s escapades as he annoys his neighbors and learns how to control the stick. Kimmel and Stevens make a good team, with the text fonts echoing the action of the story and the illustrations bringing Anansi and all his antics to life. This is their fourth Anansi collaboration (Anansi and the Talking Melon, 1996, etc.); has the tricky spider learned his lesson this time? Let’s hope not—his stories are too amusing. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2001
ISBN: 0-8234-1443-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2001
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
This humorous, lively dog’s-eye view provides gentle instruction for interacting with pets.
In Weaver’s charming picture book, a dog reassesses his not-so-glowing review of little kids.
“Families are OVERRATED!” as far as the bluish-gray hound named Dog is concerned. While he approves of the adults in the household, the four small children are for the birds. In an attempt to resolve his conflicted feelings, Dog pours his heart out to a therapist scribbling on a notepad. Dog lists his grievances via couplet rhymes: “And many times I’ve found their dirty toys INSIDE MY BOWL! / It’s obvious these little humans have no SELF-CONTROL!” With key words highlighted in colorful and bolded fonts for more emphasis, his voice now has added urgency. Soylu’s lively drawings in muted tones are wondrously effective in animating Dog; his hanging jowls, big eyes, and floppy ears all convey believably beleaguered expressions. Lifelike details enhance the dramatic effect of the children’s boisterous antics. At the end, Weaver provides a list of do’s and don’ts for interacting with pets. Dog lovers can identify the dog breed silhouettes on the endpapers. Kids will get a kick out of Dog’s opinion of humans and perhaps recognize some behaviors to reconsider.
This humorous, lively dog’s-eye view provides gentle instruction for interacting with pets.Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781736267370
Page Count: 40
Publisher: A Little Offbeat Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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