In this new author-illustrated children’s series, a young amphibian struggles to save his home and sees the world in the process.
Slippy the Salamander lives a peaceful, protected life in Salamander Village, until a band of dastardly lizards arrives, intent on taking over the town and forcing the salamanders into slavery. True to his name, Slippy manages to slip away, but he’s then left wondering how to take care of himself and how to save his family and his village from the evil lizards. This book contains the first four volumes in a series of 10 encompassing Slippy’s adventures away from home. The series is derived from a basic story that Schmidt outlined when he was just 5 years old, which is reproduced in an appendix. Reflecting its origins as a childhood invention, the narrative has a meandering quality as Slippy encounters various friends and helpers—including Sheldon the terrapin, Mrs. Bristlebottom the hedgehog, Squeeks the mouse, Diggy the Troglodyte and others—from bog and ocean to cave and mountain. Along the way, young readers will learn about various types of creatures and their habitats, but some may have trouble separating fact from fiction since Slippy and his friends also encounter dragonlike “earth-wyrms” and trolls as well as other mysterious, fantastical creatures. The cartoonish illustrations are bright and appealing, and each illustration is accompanied by a large-print caption that summarizes the main activity of that moment in the story; early readers will be able to follow along easily, while older readers will appreciate the fuller narrative and the informational, sometimes funny footnotes featured on many pages. The series does for naturalism what the Magic Tree House series did for world history: gives it an engaging story, a sympathetic protagonist and great illustrations, which should appeal to both boys and girls from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Entertaining and educational; a welcome find for parents and kids looking to get hooked on a new series.
Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2012
ISBN: 978-0985796006
Page Count: 201
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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
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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