American holidays are the characters in this witty seasonal tale, the second Christmas story collaboration by Reiss and Catrow (How Murray Saved Christmas, not reviewed). Santa has gained weight and is claustrophobic about getting stuck in a chimney during deliveries. The kindly therapist, Doc Holiday, sends Santa off on a cruise for a year to recuperate, and recruits all his other clients to take over Santa’s work. The extensive cast list (unnecessarily all male) includes all the major holidays, from Baby New Year to the Thanksgiving Turkey, with hilarious minor holiday persona as well, each with a particular problem. Christopher Columbus can’t get his directions straight; the April Fool is, of course, a prank-playing fool; and the red-eyed, suspicious Election Day Donkey and Elephant (with butterfly ballots hanging out of their pockets) are stuck on an island recounting their own votes. The story is told in rollicking, sing-song rhyme (recalling the Grinch), full of some very funny, laugh-out-loud ideas, off-beat humor, and sly digs at holiday frippery and foibles. Catrow’s hilarious, cartoon-style watercolors provide additional amusement that will appeal to children, teens, and adults. All his characters are caricatures, including one representing Martin Luther King Day, which may be problematic for some readers or communities. This will work well as a read-aloud for older kids, and of course, as an ideal Christmas gift for any therapist who doesn’t shrink from irreverent humor. (Picture book. 6+)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-8341-7756-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For the 90's, a handsome, well-documented collection of stories about nine uniquely American characters. In her intelligent introduction, Osborne explains their genesis ``from various combinations of historical fact, the storytelling of ordinary people, and the imagination of professional writers'' and notes that changing times put a new light on stories deriding various groups (including women and even animals). Thus her intention is to emphasize ``gargantuan physical courage and absurd humor'' and to ``bring out the vulnerable and compassionate side'' despite the stories' ``ineradicable taint of violence.'' Osborne succeeds pretty well in her intention, piecing together stories that make fine introductions to characters like Mose and Stormalong. Her approach suits Johnny Appleseed and John Henry better than it does Davy Crockett battling a panther, but she does manage to put a new slant on Pecos Bill and his bouncing bride without undermining the story (there's no question of a wife's disobedience here; Sue wants to ride Bill's horse as a test of skill). The telling is more polished than lively—Glen Rounds's irrepressible wit (Ol' Paul, the Mighty Logger, 1949) is more fun, but these versions are perfectly acceptable. McCurdy's vigorous wood engravings, tinted with lucid color, contribute a rugged frontier flavor; lively, though a bit formal in style, they suit the text admirably. Each story is introduced by source notes; a story-by-story bibliography provides a good roundup of this popular genre. (Folklore. 6-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-679-80089-1
Page Count: 116
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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