The circus’s smallest members snatch triumph from the jaws of disaster in this high-flying tale of heroism under the big top. A sudden flat tire in mid-performance sets off a chain reaction of spills and collisions that knocks the tiger’s cage open. Freed, the tiger leaps toward little Gisselda and Bop, a tiny clown—but instead of fleeing, they stand up to the beast, send it slinking away, then bow to the crowd as if it had all been part of the show. Cundiff sends stylized figures with wildly exaggerated proportions arcing and spinning through dazzling monochromatic backgrounds, matching Duncan’s (On the Edge, 2000, etc.) equally bouncy verse: “The rest of the Horses reared in their tracks / And Bareback Riders flew off their backs, / With one of them doing a loop-the-loop / To land in a pile of Elephant poop. / (There’s a lot of that at the Circus.).” Readers will demand ringside seats to see just why “you don’t play rough with the kind of kid / Who is raised in the world of the Circus.” (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-23397-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2002
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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