With blithe disregard for credibility or consequences, Jane showers young Milo with treats and rewards after he wreaks destruction along a parade route after blowing off parental orders. Despite being grounded, Milo chases his dog through a conveniently open gate, then knocks over a line of pushcarts along the way. Having created enough wreckage to reroute the parade, he elbows a firefighter, who benevolently gives him a T-shirt, then gets to “drive” a fire engine past his house. Showing not a trace of remorse in Johnson’s bland, smiley art, Milo returns home to mug at viewers while his sister makes a snide comment about how he missed everything. Even less discriminating readers will see a world of difference between David Shannon’s engaging, eponymous ne’er-do-well and this sociopath. (Picture book. 6-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-59034-192-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Mondo Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is not an essential purchase, most little pumpkins will love being told, “Baby, I'm batty for you!” (Board book....
Young children won't understand the metaphors but will appreciate the sentiment made clear by the repeated, Halloween-themed declarations of love in Wan's latest board book.
Each of the seven spreads presents an endearment illustrated by an object drawn with heavy outlines and just enough detail to invoke its essential characteristics. Lest it become too maudlin, between the “sugary, sweet candy corn” and a “purr-fect, cuddly kitty” is a “wild, messy monster.” Wan manages to make each drawing expressive and distinctive while relying on just a few shapes—crescents or circles for eyes, dots or ovals accenting cheeks. Although each spread stands alone, there are quiet connections. For example, the orange of the pumpkin is repeated in the candy corn, and the purple that adorns kitty's hat and bow becomes the prominent color on the next spread, setting off the friendly white ghost nicely. The same purple is used for the spider's body on the next to last spread. Subtle, shadowed backgrounds repeat the patterns found elsewhere in the book. For example, the background of the page with the kitty includes pumpkins, hearts, and hats and bows like the ones kitty is wearing.
While this is not an essential purchase, most little pumpkins will love being told, “Baby, I'm batty for you!” (Board book. 6 mos.-3)Pub Date: June 28, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-88092-3
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
From Powell (A Bold Carnivore, 1995) comes Gary Paulsen-like insight: Once a sled dog, always a sled dog, for although a Newfoundland named Cora is getting too old to pull, her owners can’t get the hearty dog to quit. Every Christmas the dogs help a mother, father, and Susan bring home a Christmas tree from the snowy woods. This year, Cora is not hitched up with the other two sled dogs in her bright red harness. She refuses to stay home, and follows the family into the forest. At first Cora gets underfoot; the family doesn’t understand what she is trying to do. But when the tree is selected, chopped down, and tied to the sled, Cora leads the other dogs—helping in spirit, if not in fact. Powell’s colorful woodcuts portray a crisp snow-filled north woods with deep blue shadows and green pines. The Yuletide setting is background dressing; the interactions of dogs and family predominate. An affectionate, unusual story. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8075-5968-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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