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PUSS IN COWBOY BOOTS

A husband-and-wife team reconfigures a classic with a hefty dose of Texas twang and the lankiest cowpokes in history. “It ain’t much,” says Dan of the cat he inherits from his rodeo-clown father. But Puss aims to please. “You go on and get me a pair of cowboy boots,” says the anthropomorphized animal. “I got me a plan that’s gonna make you gladder than a mosquito at a blood bank and will keep me in sardines and sweet cream for life!” Huling’s accomplished watercolors reflect the colors of sun, sand, and desert wildflowers as Puss dupes an oil baron (Mr. Patoot) into thinking Dan’s a wealthy rancher, then orchestrates a love connection between Dan and the man’s daughter, Rosie May. In one full-bleed illustration, Dan, Mr. Patoot, and Rosie May relax on a picnic blanket after Mr. Patoot’s driver saves Dan from drowning; a vignette, opposite, shows the driver with a new suit and hat for Dan. By the time they get to town Mr. Patoot and Rosie May think Dan is loaded (Puss, who’s traveled ahead, convinces cowboys and oil workers to tell them Dan owns the livestock and rigs). When Puss tricks an ogre into turning himself into a mouse—so he can eat him—he claims the ogre’s castle for Dan. In the end, Rosie May and Dan are married. Will she still love him when she learns he’s a liar? Those in search of fairy-tale retellings will likely enjoy the Huling’s faithful adaptation. Even though it verges on verbose, this debut is sure to find a regional readership. And the illustrator is definitely a talent to watch. (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: June 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-689-83119-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002

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GOONEY BIRD GREENE

Gooney Bird Greene (with a silent E) is not your average second grader. She arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s class announcing: “I’m your new student and I just moved here from China. I want a desk right smack in the middle of the room, because I like to be right smack in the middle of everything.” Everything about her is unusual and mysterious—her clothes, hairstyles, even her lunches. Since the second graders have never met anyone like Gooney Bird, they want to hear more about her. Mrs. Pidgeon has been talking to the class about what makes a good story, so it stands to reason that Gooney will get her chance. She tells a series of stories that explain her name, how she came from China on a flying carpet, how she got diamond earrings at the prince’s palace, and why she was late for school (because she was directing a symphony orchestra). And her stories are “absolutely true.” Actually, they are explainable and mesh precisely with the teacher’s lesson, more important, they are a clever device that exemplify the elements of good storytelling and writing and also demonstrate how everyone can turn everyday events into stories. Savvy teachers should take note and add this to their shelf of “how a story is made” titles. Gooney Bird’s stories are printed in larger type than the narrative and the black-and-white drawings add the right touch of sauciness (only the cover is in color). A hybrid of Harriet, Blossom, and Anastasia, irrepressible Gooney Bird is that rare bird in children’s fiction: one that instantly becomes an amusing and popular favorite. (Fiction. 6-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-618-23848-4

Page Count: 96

Publisher: Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002

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RIVER STORY

Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)

Pub Date: June 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000

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