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SMUDGE

Rowe (The Gingerbread Man, 1996, etc.) presents another delightfully eccentric character from his bestiary: an old storytelling rat named Smudge, who recalls his childhood abduction by a bird. Back at the nest, after a brief stint as a beak buffer, he becomes part of the family, learning to chirp and ``even thought about laying an egg.'' But the birds fly off and he is snatched by a dog. The dogs run off—he is too slow—and his next forced domicile is a rabbit hutch. They bound off, and Smudge's hopping can't compare. So it goes with fish and squirrels: Smudge is first used by his captor, then abandoned when he can't mimic his abductor's most salient attribute. At last, glory be, he is whisked off by a brown rat with a big smile: Mom. Rowe replays the to-thine-own-self-be-true theme with a combination of drollery and piquancy, with artwork that is dauntingly emotional: Sometimes Smudge is diminutive, looking highly vulnerable and far away; at other times readers are right there in the dark-toned illustrations, holding Smudge's hand, sharing his journey toward home. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1997

ISBN: 1-55858-788-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: NorthSouth

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1997

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DIARY OF A SPIDER

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

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HENRY AND MUDGE AND THE STARRY NIGHT

From the Henry and Mudge series

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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