The questionable co-optation of cherished characters from classic children’s literature continues, exemplified by this third entry by Suen and Eitzen in the Peter’s Neighborhood series (Willie’s Birthday, 2001, etc.). Peter, hero of the beloved Ezra Jack Keats classics The Snowy Day and Peter’s Chair, is in third or fourth grade now, and he has a couple of mild problems. He wants his loose tooth to stay connected until school-picture day is over, and he wants a new basketball, but hasn’t saved enough money to cover the cost. Peter and his friends from various Keats stories (Amy, Archie, and Lily) play a game of pick-up basketball on the playground with four other kids, and Peter’s tooth falls out after he trips and falls. He cheerfully decides to “say cheese” for his school picture, knowing that he’ll have enough money to buy a basketball after a visit from the tooth fairy. The sturdy but unexceptionable storyline lacks the flair of original work by Keats, and Eitzen’s imitative illustrations are only a pale echo of Keatsian genius. Still, the third title in a series implies a certain level of success, so the series may well continue as Peter and his friends grow up. (Imagine the YA titles to follow: A Letter to Peter from Amy, Dreams in Apt. 3, and after Peter and Amy settle down together to raise a family, Peter’s Rocking Chair.) (Easy reader. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-670-03536-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2002
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-88240-575-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
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