Carlos makes an umbrella from shiny, green fronds to go into the cloud forest, hoping to see many animals. When the only sounds he hears are the drips from the tall trees, he climbs up a giant fig tree to see better, dropping his umbrella upside down on the ground. As the drips collect inside it, a series of animals tumbles in: Froggy, Toucan, Kinkajou, Baby Tapir, Quetzal, and—finally—Monkey, who tosses the umbrella into the river, where it starts to sink. Jaguar pounces on it as it floats by, but when Hummingbird lands on the handle, it’s this tiny creature that makes everyone fall out—and the umbrella drifts back to shore. Up in the fig tree, Carlos wonders disappointedly where all the animals are. Insets of leaf shapes telescope the clever contrapuntal action of Carlos’s climb and the next creature, while lush watercolor-and-gouache illustrations in vivid greens and bright colors create a diorama effect. The blurb cites the story as a complement to The Mitten (1989) and its snowy setting. Indeed, Brett surpasses herself in this handsomely designed and beautifully executed appreciation of so different a setting. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-399-24215-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2004
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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