Skippyjon Jones insists he’s not a Siamese cat despite ears too big for his head and a head too big for his body. This rambunctious kitty with an overactive imagination prefers to be El Skippito, a Zorro-like sword fighter. Walking through his closet, he meets a mysterioso band of Chichuahuas called Los Chimichangos. The masked Skippyjon joins them, pretending to be a dog and claiming he loves “mice and beans.” The Chimichangos are convinced he will bid adios to the bad bandito Bumblebeeto who steals their frijoles. And yippito, he does. Returning home where Mama Junebug Jones and the girls are waiting—his closet explodes with a birthday piñata of goodies. This pun-filled spoof is over-the-top comedy littered with Spanish words and “Spanglish” accents (bees-ness). Mama’s pet names for Skippyjon—Mr. Kitten Britches, Fluffernutter—add affectionate touches. Colorful, lively illustrations exaggerate the hilarity. No ethnic aspersions intended, just laugh-out-loud humor. Both feline hero and story are full of beans (more Mexican-jumping than pinto) but ay caramba, mucho fun. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-525-47134-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2003
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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