What’s a diva to do? When Madame SoSo, opera star, succumbs to a sudden attack of laryngitis, her kitty cat collaborator comes to the rescue. Unnoticed and unappreciated by the humans in her life, Alma, no ordinary cat, has been lurking, listening, and learning each time the Maestro has visited Madame to coach her. Our fine feline friend has practiced to purrfection and with a voice like an angel (so like Madame’s own) lets her owner know that she is worthy to step in. But how to pull off the switch? “Madame SoSo piled her hair into an immense tower of curls. Soon Alma was hidden and their secret was safe.” An affectionate lesson about loyalty and untapped talent, Weaver’s first book for children is a gentle comedy with lots of life, deftly drawn through detailed settings, sensory allusions, and just the right amount of melodrama and romance. Bold enough to be appreciated by a group, Wesson’s (Jack Quack, 2001) quirky watercolor illustrations are appropriately light, colorful, and crisp, full of fanciful, pointy-nosed patrons of the arts and alive with enough behind-the-scenes action for most keen-eyed of kids. Brava! Bravissima! (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-09635-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2002
Turkey’s in the “kind of trouble where it’s almost Thanksgiving...and you’re the main course.” Accordingly, Turkey tries on disguise after disguise, from horse to cow to pig to sheep, at each iteration being told that he looks nothing like the animal he’s trying to mimic (which is quite true, as Harper’s quirky watercolors make crystal clear). He desperately squeezes a red rubber glove onto his head to pass as a rooster, only to overhear the farmer suggest a poultry plan B when he’s unable to turn up the turkey. Turkey’s horrified expression as he stands among the peppers and tomatoes—in November? Chalk it up to artistic license—is priceless, but his surroundings give him an idea. Good fun, but it may lead to a vegetarian table or two. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5529-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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