A pleasant adventure that young readers will want to emulate.
A Saturday at the local farmers’ market is more fun for a little girl than a carnival.
Already dressed to go, with a little yellow purse on her arm, she wakes her parents up very early by shaking her piggy bank. Next thing you know, she's pulling her red wagon through aisles of fresh vegetables and fruits, parents trailing behind (and doing damage control). Sampling the produce is part of the adventure: "Juicy cherries in a bunch, Let's buy a basketful to munch." Next come the flowers, in myriad colors, then the Adopt-A-Pet stand. She'd like a kitten, but Dad starts to sneeze. There are bakery tables and fresh honey from a bee farm ("chewy, sticky, sweet, and runny"). Vendors sell a variety of craft items, from birdhouses to decorated watering cans. She picks one that's just her size, decorated with pink flowers. When she reaches the end of the market, her wagon is full of purchases, and she's very tired. Her parents have to carry her treasures so that she can ride. "Let's bring a friend next Saturday." Trent packs a lot of learning into her simple story, told in bouncy verse and attractively illustrated by Dippold in bright colors.
A pleasant adventure that young readers will want to emulate. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58925-115-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
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
The action of this rhymed and humorous tale centers upon a mouse who "took a stroll/through the deep dark wood./A fox saw the mouse/and the mouse looked good." The mouse escapes being eaten by telling the fox that he is on his way to meet his friend the gruffalo (a monster of his imagination), whose favorite food is roasted fox. The fox beats a hasty retreat. Similar escapes are in store for an owl and a snake; both hightail it when they learn the particulars: tusks, claws, terrible jaws, eyes orange, tongue black, purple prickles on its back. When the gruffalo suddenly materializes out of the mouse's head and into the forest, the mouse has to think quick, declaring himself inedible as the "scariest creature in the deep dark wood," and inviting the gruffalo to follow him to witness the effect he has on the other creatures. When the gruffalo hears that the mouse's favorite food is gruffalo crumble, he runs away. It's a fairly innocuous tale, with twists that aren't sharp enough and treachery that has no punch. Scheffler's funny scenes prevent the suspense from culminating; all his creatures, predator and prey, are downright lovable. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: June 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8037-2386-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1999
SEEN & HEARD
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