A chapter book series in the fine tradition of Frog and Toad. Minton is a salamander on the go; optimistic and adventurous, he’s always up for a trip. Best friend Turtle, like gloomy Eeyore, is the resident worrier, warning Minton that killer whales will eat him, lightning will strike or a monster wind will blow them out of the sky. But Minton remains undaunted. Though writing for new readers, Fienberg includes some pleasing descriptive words and phrases (scudding, supersonic, “told-you-so stroke”) that help make this a terrific read-aloud as well. Gamble’s full-color illustrations on each spread are just the thing for a reader who is ready for early chapter books. Originally published in Australia, this series retains British spelling and word choices: favourite, aeroplane and petrol, for example. After each short story, an art project, usually involving recycled materials and requiring adult assistance, helps extend the story. The next two titles are Minton Goes!: Driving and Trucking (ISBN: 978-1-74175-427-8) and Minton Goes!: Underwater and Home at Last (ISBN: 978-1-74175-429-2). Jolly good fun. (Fantasy. 5-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-74175-428-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 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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