Though it has supporting themes about friendship and imagination, the biggest appeal here is that it’s just plain fun....
Funny and charming, this picture book debut by author/illustrator Krol stars pint-sized aliens who always know how to lend a hand (and a laugh).
Clearly alien, with green skin and antennae or gray skin and elongated faces, the Quest-terrestrials do their best to blend in on any planet, whether it’s with humans or cacti. But they also love to take center stage and be unique. They like to go fast, and they like “things that, um, float?” the narrator explains in a dubious tone, accompanied by an image of the little aliens with pink balloons tied to their middles. The Quest-terrestrials also have the qualities of good friends: They catch friends when they fall and help them when they’re scared. Krol has a way of defying expectations. When the narrator describes simple pleasures, the aliens are shown with a leaf blower sending them (and a field of daisies) flying; when the aliens love something sweet, the page almost overflows with blue cotton candy. The Quest-terrestrials are fond of furry creatures, but they love unicorns best (enough to figure out how to bring one back to their home planet). The story ends on a gross-out note—and another expectation swap—that will leave readers giggling. Krol’s art has plenty of kid appeal, and the rough, cartoonish style is perfect for enhancing the text’s sense of humor.
Though it has supporting themes about friendship and imagination, the biggest appeal here is that it’s just plain fun. Expect plenty of giggles—from children and parents.Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5255-2190-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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