In vital respects, very like The Curse of the Blue Figurine (p. J-112), last season's spooky debut of young Johnny Dixon and his eccentric old neighbor Professor Childermass; but a letdown only on that score. The new old mystery the Professor lays before Johnny concerns the missing will of H. Blagwell Glomus, cereal tycoon and demonology adept—who may have left three odd objects as a clue, or may have left the objects merely to annoy his relatives. Johnny hasn't time to puzzle it out before he finds his grandmother acting strange, the victim of a brain tumor, and his own worries mount: his mother is dead, his father is a pilot in Korea, and now? To distract him, the Professor arranges a week's stay in the White Mountains with the Boy Scouts; next to the camp, unsuspected, is the derelict Glomus estate; calling to tell the Professor, Johnny is eyed darkly by a young man and hotel-keeper Mrs. Woodley; and when he and Fergie, a fellow odd-fact collector and a welcome friend, sneak out to the estate at night, the young man is waiting for them—with a gun. Faced down, he tells them he's Chad Glomus, grandson of "good old H. Blagwell"; warns of a malevolent Guardian at loose; and, with "long, loud, hideous yells and shrieks," vanishes. A crazy joke? Or for real? Home again, Johnny learns that his father is missing in Korea—and panics: if his grandmother dies, his grandfather will die too, and he'll be all alone. But the $10,000 reward for finding the will would pay for the best brain surgeon; so, aware that he's not rational, he heads back alone to New Hampshire, and into the clutches of Mrs. Woodley, old man Glomus' sister and now the Guardian's keeper. . . where, in a fiery finale, the Professor and Fergie find him, and the will is destroyed. Then, tucking in the personal loose ends, Bellairs has Johnny get the reward anyhow—and has his father appear unheralded at the door. The usual taut narrative, intriguing puzzle, interesting types—but risky in that Johnny's psyche comes to seem part of the pattern.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1983
ISBN: 1617563285
Page Count: 126
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1983
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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