A misbehaved mule gets an etiquette lesson in Edwards’s (Little Brown Hen’s Shower, p. 410, etc.) humorous tale. “What would you do if a mule knocked on your door one day and said ‘I’ve come for lunch?’ ” asks the opening spread. “You’d say, ‘Hello! Come in, Mule.’ ” But rudeness ensues as the mule resists his host’s suggestions, then throws a tantrum when he doesn’t get his way. Each time, the boy waits patiently until his guest acquiesces. (“What if he came in and sat down at the table? You’d say ‘Mule, wash your hooves before lunch.’ But what if he said ‘Won’t!’ You’d say, ‘No lunch for you then.’ ”) Nascimbeni’s (Small Brown Dog’s Bad Remembering Day, 2000, etc.) saturated mixed-media illustrations provide vivid accompaniment as the meal gets progressively messier. A full-bleed illustration steeped in heady tones of tomato red and rust orange depicts the mule slurping spaghetti. Curly noodles loop through the air as the boy nearly falls off his seat. Opposite, a vignette shows the boy standing up to the horrible house guest (“Mule, eat your food quietly”). By the end, a series of vignettes shows the pair riding a toy train, playing hide and seek, blowing bubbles, and, finally, taking a nap—the rewards of proper behavior. For fans of Laura Numeroff’s Mouse stories (below), Edward’s effort may seem like déjà vu. But by making her host cool as cucumber and totally in charge, Edwards gives her tale a twist. It’s Emily Post for the preschool set, an appealing and laugh-inducing introduction to civilized living. (author’s note on mules) (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-8050-7007-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.
A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.
Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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