Joining the rapidly swelling ranks of seemingly innocuous tales for younglings in which main characters are suddenly killed off, this charming outing stars sweet little old Mrs. Collywobbles and the small attack frog that guards her doorstep. The doorstep needs guarding too, as out of the adjacent “big, dark, scary wood” shamble a Greedy Goblin (“Nickerty-noo, nickerty-noo, / if I get a chance / I’ll steal from you…”), a Smelly Troll and a Giant Hungry Ogre in succession. All meet the same fate, depicted on spreads with the single word “GOBBLE” and a view of the frog with various disconnected body parts hanging out of its mouth. Mrs. Collywobbles rewards the frog with a transformative kiss—which sets the stage for a final bit of snacking. Set in a mottled, woodsy landscape filled with stylized flowers and leaves, and populated with creatures more ugly than scary-looking, the episode fits neatly among the equally unsettling likes of Jeanne Willis’s Tadpole’s Promise (2005), illustrated by Tony Ross, and Kara LaReau’s Ugly Fish (2006), illustrated by Scott Magoon. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: July 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3920-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2008
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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