Meister, author of the Tiny the dog stories (Tiny the Snow Dog, 2001, etc.), offers a mid-level easy reader about two best friends, a dimwitted pig called Fats and a smart rabbit called Skinny. Three short chapters focus on their friendship: their decision to be best friends, an ill-fated but funny plot to fly to Mars via a spring-loaded chair, and Skinny’s creation of a carrot cookie pie instead of the famous marshmallow pie that is the pig’s specialty. (A simple recipe for a gooey marshmallow pie is included on the final page.) The stories utilize the same sort of teasing best-friends relationship that Frog and Toad or Bert and Ernie share, with hints of deadpan humor that young readers will like. Björkman’s jaunty, loose watercolors add to the overall effect, especially the amusing expressions on the animal’s faces. Despite the work’s strengths, many adults will take issue with the choice of names and the characterization of the pig as “very, very fat.” In fact, he is just about as plump as a healthy pig should be. Name-calling and weight problems are real issues in the elementary school world, and it’s unfortunate that Fats and Skinny have names that serve as labels for their weight. (Easy reader. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2002
ISBN: 0-8234-1692-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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