A case of unrequited love makes a young boy cringe until the source of adulation moves away. A typical scamp, the protagonist curls his toes in embarrassment as his desk-mate Jennifer Jones showers him with unwanted affection. Love notes and whispered endearments are the modus operandi of this pint-sized femme fatale. However, her unrequited adoration causes her would-be swain plenty of teasing in the play yard. Unexpectedly, the boy’s fervent wish that Jennifer Jones would go away—to live with the monkeys in the trees or maybe even the moon—suddenly comes true. However, once Jennifer has left his side, her jilted beau longs for her return. Wishinsky’s (What’s the Matter with Albert, not reviewed, etc.) rhyming verses maintain a cheery tone, wryly capturing those prickly, poignant pangs of first crushes; Jennifer’s amorous advances are coquettishly innocent while the boy’s response is all that would be expected from someone still interested in frogs and puppy dog tails. Layton’s (The Sunday Blues, p. 884, etc.) cartoon-style illustrations have a free-spirited feel to them. The full-bleed illustrations contribute to the tale’s impish tone with a mix of haphazard sketches and zany collage art featuring some hilarious insertions and comical depictions. A valentine tale that will keep readers, both the lovelorn and ardently pursued, in stitches. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-87614-921-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A book that will make young dog-owners smile in recognition and confirm dogless readers' worst suspicions about the mayhem caused by pets, even winsome ones. Sam, who bears passing resemblance to an affable golden retriever, is praised for fetching the family newspaper, and goes on to fetch every other newspaper on the block. In the next story, only the children love Sam's swimming; he is yelled at by lifeguards and fishermen alike when he splashes through every watering hole he can find. Finally, there is woe to the entire family when Sam is bored and lonely for one long night. Boland has an essential message, captured in both both story and illustrations of this Easy-to-Read: Kids and dogs belong together, especially when it's a fun-loving canine like Sam. An appealing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-8037-1530-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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
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