Enjoyably old-fashioned tales with charm, wit, and an appreciation of kindness.
An elephant searches for a hat to make him special and a cat meets a bird missing his head feathers in these two read-aloud children’s stories.
Squirrel Hill (not the Pittsburgh neighborhood) is a farmhouse in the country. Madison, the young girl who lives there, has several walking, talking plush-toy animals. Other farmyard and wild animals also speak and behave in some human ways. In “Just an Ordinary Elephant,” Perfesser is a self-important goose who proclaims that there’s nothing special about Ellie, a stuffed elephant, because he’s unlike African elephants, who have ears that “always stick straight out….And they always wear straw hats.” Ellie overhears this and—his dignity wounded—decides he must emulate African elephants. Though Madison knows that Ellie is indeed special, being polite, kind, and generous, he’ll have to learn this for himself. In “The Bald Cardinal,” the cat Kitty certainly doesn’t lack confidence, knowing herself to be “brainy, gorgeous, and curious.” She meets a bald cardinal whose condition is a problem: “I cannot find anyone who will talk with me without staring at my head and tweeting all their friends.” But Kitty reassures him he’s very handsome, “and…when he really thought about it, a cat should know.” Though Kitty, like Ellie, performs a kind act, she decides—catlike—to keep it to herself and to never do it again. Clark (Crossing Briar Woo, 2018, etc.) follows up his first outing in this series with two tales (aimed at children ages 4 to 7) that are less focused on Madison and more on the animal denizens of Squirrel Hill. Each one has something to say about self-acceptance, but neither is overly preachy. Instead, gentle humor and good characterization make for amusing scenarios, as when Ellie, offered assistance by Esther Marie Rabbit, “did not say ‘thank you.’ He was trying very hard to be special and he forgot.” The second story is slighter, but Kitty’s zest enlivens it. Driver’s (Crossing Briar Woo, 2018, etc.) attractively detailed pencil-and-wash illustrations bring out the characters’ expressions and personalities, skillfully distinguishing between real and stuffed animals.
Enjoyably old-fashioned tales with charm, wit, and an appreciation of kindness.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-72323-089-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Ozymandias Publishing Co.
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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