A rollicking cross country sprint with their energetic grandmother leads siblings Ruthie and Joe and their friend to a wondrous discovery. Spying Granny Annie racing past, the children abandon their pursuits to join the chase; intrigued by her cryptic refrain—“Can’t be late. Catching something. Something great”—the children speculate as to her goal. Heightening their interest is the fact that each time Granny Annie is about to explain where she is headed, she is interrupted and consequently distracted by a giant sneeze. Alda (Arlene Alda’s 1 2 3, 1998, etc.) gives the tale an upbeat tempo, right to the surprising destination—at land’s end overlooking an ocean sunset—that provides a foil to the chase. The loveliness of the setting sun overcomes the children’s initial disappointment, providing them and readers with a reminder of the joy found in simple things. Aldridge’s watercolors, done in shimmering golden hues, illuminate the beauty of an autumn sunset; she also includes whimsical elements for astute observers. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-883672-72-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tricycle
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
Hillenbrand takes license with the familiar song (the traditional words and music are reproduced at the end) to tell an enchanting story about baby animals picked up by the train and delivered to the children’s zoo. The full-color drawings are transportingly jolly, while the catchy refrain—“See the engine driver pull his little lever”—is certain to delight readers. Once the baby elephant, flamingo, panda, tiger, seal, and kangaroo are taken to the zoo by the train, the children—representing various ethnic backgrounds, and showing one small girl in a wheelchair—arrive. This is a happy book, filled with childhood exuberance. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201804-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Disheartened by environmental destruction, a girl determines to do all she can to reverse the process in Cheng’s optimistic invitation to personal action. The girl plants a tree, walks to school instead of riding, cleans up the yard, writes, sings, marches, and speaks for the world, then imagines, in an affecting final series of illustrations, what would happen “if the children of the world did all that they could.” Woolman bases his ink-and-colored-pencil illustrations on the metaphor of the gradual cleaning of a stained-glass window; his early images are blue and gloomy, but frame by frame, a glistening world emerges. His depiction of the brilliance achieved aids the simple, restrained text enormously, as he adds the layers needed for making the text specific. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-56656-330-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crocodile/Interlink
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
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