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GIANT JOHN

Name: GIANT JOHN
Author: Arnold Lobel
ISBN: 0805082956

by Arnold Lobel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1964

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Arnold Lobel's Giant John has good-natured, not-too-bright features and a lumsy gentleness nice to find in a giant. He's a favorite of the forest fairies who get a good laugh out of captivating him with their magic music which sends him into a trance dance every time. They really missed him when he went off to work at the castle, but he had to — his mother's cupboard was down to two potato chips. He made an excellent castle giant, sheltering it from the rain, creating a breeze on hot days and acting as companion to the king, queen and princess. One day the fairies found him, started the music and his impromptu choreography led him to stomp on the castle. Even the fairies were appalled. They helped him to put it back together better than ever, bandaged up the flowers and Giant John went home to poor mother with his wages in the nick of time — she was all set to eat a Chaplin-esque meal of boiled shoe. Big, happy pictures all in three colors and an easy story to show, tell and laugh at.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1964

ISBN: 0805082956

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1964

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE TURNAROUND WIND
illustrated by Arnold Lobel

- BOOK REVIEW
THE RANDOM HOUSE BOOK OF MOTHER GOOSE
by Arnold Lobel

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ROSE IN MY GARDEN
by Arnold Lobel & illustrated by Anita Lobel

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

THE FIRST CAT IN SPACE AND THE WRATH OF THE PAPERCLIP

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THE FIRST CAT IN SPACE AND THE WRATH OF THE PAPERCLIP

From the First Cat in Space series , Vol. 3

by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Shawn Harris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2024

File under “laugh riot.”

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A rogue spell-check program’s bid to transform all life-forms into that eminently useful office item, the paper clip, touches off a fresh round of lunar lunacy.

Predicated on the entirely reasonable premise that eliminating all spelling and grammar errors everywhere would logically lead to the necessity of exterminating carbon-based life in the universe, this third series entry combines high stakes with daffy banter and daring exploits. CheckMate—a chipper, jumped-up editing program—has invented the Transmogratron, a giant laser that will fulfill its ultimate goals in both the cyber world and “meatspace.” Facing challenges as random as prankster lunar unicorns and a disarmingly motherly Motherboard, scowling First Cat joins a motley crew of diversely carbon- and silicon-based allies, led by the pearlescent Queen of the Moon. They’re in a race to the finish—diverted occasionally by, for instance, a relentlessly punny comic-book interlude featuring a pair of literal and figurative Pool Sharks. They ultimately triumph thanks to teamwork and moxie. Following a celebratory party and toasts to “new friends…and steadfast comrades” (and, of course, “MEOW”), the story’s energetic, brightly colored panels close with a reveal of the next volume. (“I always hate it when comics end by announcing a sequel. SO CRINGE!” declares an authorial stand-in.) It can’t come too soon.

File under “laugh riot.” (Graphic science fiction. 8-11)