Jenna was born on Halloween; her mother was dressed up as a witch when she went into labor. Now she delights Jenna by pretending to be a cackling Witch Mama every Halloween. Mickey, Jenna's younger brother, doesn't like the game. When Mama cackles he says, ``No.'' When she tries to make him up for trick-or- treating he says, ``No.'' When Jenna takes him to the haunted house he says, ``No.'' Like most preschoolers, he adapts, and comes to love Witch Mama in the end. Brightly colored illustrations capture the Halloween action as it might be experienced in a small town. The plotting gets a little amorphous, with most of the scenes equally weighted and lacking in direction and suspense: a flashback to explain the Witch Mama's origins, a breakfast scene, dressing up after school, trick-or- treating in the neighborhood, a Happy Birthday scene (with candles in four candy bars, this also seems to be the dinner scene), walking to school with all the other costumed children, and finally, school, for a Halloween party. Caseley (Slumber Party!, p. 293, etc.) uncharacteristically loads the text with explanations, leaving readers without the satisfaction of finding clues in the artwork themselves. The book becomes more of a primer on celebrating Halloween than a story about the Witch Mama. (Picture book. 4+)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-688-14457-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1996
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
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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