Brett sets the familiar story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears in the Arctic, replacing Goldilocks with Aloo-ki, an Inuit girl who stumbles upon the snow bears’ igloo while hunting for her lost dog team. After Aloo-ki samples three bowls of soup, three pairs of boots and three sleeping places, she falls asleep in Baby Bear’s cozy bed. When the igloo’s occupants return, a surprised Aloo-ki scrambles out of bed and past the bears to discover that they have found and rescued her dogs. Brett presents the Goldilocks story in simple prose, altering it only slightly to accommodate the Arctic setting. The stunning watercolor-and-gouache illustrations, however, provide the sense of place that the words do not. Brett creates a strikingly beautiful blue-and-gray–toned world of ice populated with thickly furred creatures and accented with Inuit motifs. The intricately detailed, multi-paneled spreads depict the snow bears rescuing Aloo-ki’s dogs while Aloo-ki explores their igloo. Children and adults alike will pore over each page, relishing the richness of Brett’s artwork. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-399-24792-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
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
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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