by Richard T. Morris ; illustrated by Julie Rowan-Zoch ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 26, 2024
Sets an American literary classic on a wonderfully wrong turn.
In this riff on the celebrated poem, a youngster rides a blue hippo with a jingle bell harness through a wintery setting.
The brown-skinned child speaks the opening lines: “Whose woods these are I think I know.” The child then deviates a bit: “My little hippopotamus must think it—” Suddenly, the youngster encounters Robert Frost, peering out of a window superimposed over the trees (no house is depicted). The poet is clearly upset by the word change and the strange sight: “Hippos live in the jungle.” The child, the hippo, and Frost suddenly find themselves in a colorful jungle scene, along with tropical birds and animals peeking from the foliage. The young protagonist continues to rewrite the poem to fit the new environment. When Frost points out that there is no snow in the jungle, the child tries substitutes: Rain? Dough? Deciding that the verse needs more excitement, the child invents disasters such as meteors, a tidal wave, and an alien invasion. Somehow, Frost manages to get through the poem and even starts writing another well-known work. The disconnect between the staid poet and the imaginative child makes for a highly amusing example of metafiction, while the digital art blends elegantly composed wintry backdrops with cartoonish images of the characters and various animals, with gleefully chaotic results.
Sets an American literary classic on a wonderfully wrong turn. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2024
ISBN: 9781481478021
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Share your opinion of this book
More by Richard T. Morris
BOOK REVIEW
by Richard T. Morris ; illustrated by Jay Fleck
BOOK REVIEW
by Richard T. Morris ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham
BOOK REVIEW
by Richard T. Morris ; illustrated by Priscilla Burris
by David Goodner ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 2020
A story of friendship that is both lively and lovely
Two friends embark upon a high-seas adventure.
Kondo, a large lemon-colored creature with wide round eyes, spends his day on his island home with his best friend, tangerine-hued Kezumi. Together, they frolic on their idyllic isle picking berries (tall Kondo nabs the higher fruit while Kezumi helps to retrieve the lower) while surrounded by tiny “flitter-birds” and round “fluffle-bunnies.” One day, Kezumi finds a map in a bottle that declares “WE ARE NOT ALONE.” Inspired by visions of a larger world, Kondo and Kezumi fashion a boat from a bathtub and set sail. The pair visits fantastical islands—deliciously cheese-laden Dairy Isle, the fiery and fearsome Fireskull Island—until they eventually settle upon the titular Giant Island, where they meet Albert, a gigantic gray talking mountain who is—obviously—unable to leave. Enthralled by his new friends, Albert wants them to stay forever. After Albert makes a fraught decision, Kondo and Kezumi find themselves at a crossroads and must confront their new friend. Goodner and Tsurumi’s brightly illustrated chapter book should find favor with fans of Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen’s similarly designed Mercy Watson series. Short, wry, descriptive sentences make for an equally enjoyable experience whether read aloud or independently. Episodic chapters move the action along jauntily; the conclusion is somewhat abrupt, but it promises more exploration and adventures for the best friends. (This review was originally published in the June 1, 2019, issue. The book data has been updated to reflect changes in publisher and date of publication.)
A story of friendship that is both lively and lovely (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-02577-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by David Goodner ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
by David Goodner ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
More by David Goodner
BOOK REVIEW
by David Goodner ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
BOOK REVIEW
by David Goodner ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
BOOK REVIEW
by David Goodner ; illustrated by Louis Thomas
by Gigi Priebe ; illustrated by Daniel Duncan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 3, 2017
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1965) upgrades to The Mice and the Rolls-Royce.
In Windsor Castle there sits a “dollhouse like no other,” replete with working plumbing, electricity, and even a full library of real, tiny books. Called Queen Mary’s Dollhouse, it also plays host to the Whiskers family, a clan of mice that has maintained the house for generations. Henry Whiskers and his cousin Jeremy get up to the usual high jinks young mice get up to, but when Henry’s little sister Isabel goes missing at the same time that the humans decide to clean the house up, the usually bookish big brother goes on the adventure of his life. Now Henry is driving cars, avoiding cats, escaping rats, and all before the upcoming mouse Masquerade. Like an extended version of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Two Bad Mice (1904), Priebe keeps this short chapter book constantly moving, with Duncan’s peppy art a cute capper. Oddly, the dollhouse itself plays only the smallest of roles in this story, and no factual information on the real Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House is included at the tale’s end (an opportunity lost).
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales. (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6575-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.