Jack and Jill get plenty of exercise toiling up and down that hill in this considerably extended version of the nursery rhyme. The well, it turns out, is guarded by a crocodile who won’t give out water—but will grant wishes in exchange for a hearty meal. Off go J & J to earn a ham from the butcher. Though Jill’s canny wish for a plumber to fix the broken sink back at the house backfires—“ ‘First,’ he said to Jack and Jill, / ‘I’ll check your pipes for leaks. / With any luck, I’ll have it fixed / in just a couple weeks!’ ‘Weeks?’ ”—her second try changes the croc into her disappeared Dad, who promises to fix the sink right after lunch. Doll-like figures with big blue eyes adorn Kirk’s grainy colored-pencil scenes. The bandwagon’s getting crowded with folklore takeoffs, but this deserves a spot on board for its faintly surreal air. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-399-23553-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2003
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
Every year since kindergarten, Harry’s Halloween costume has gotten scarier and scarier. What’s it going to be this year? He’s not telling. His classmates are all stunned when he shows up, not as some monster or a weird alien (well, not really)—but as neatly dressed Sgt. Joe Friday of Dragnet fame, wielding a notebook and out to get “just the facts, ma’am.” As she has in Harry’s 11 previous appearances (15, counting the ones his classmate Song Lee headlines), Kline (Marvin and the Mean Words, 1997, etc.) captures grammar-school atmosphere, personalities, and incidents perfectly, from snits to science projects gone hilariously wrong. She even hands Harry/Friday a chance to exercise his sleuthing abilities, with a supply of baby powder “fairy dust” gone mysteriously missing. As legions of fans have learned to expect, Harry comes through with flying colors, pinning down the remorseful culprit in 11 minutes flat. No surprises here, just reliable, child-friendly, middle-grade fare. Illustrations not seen. (Fiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-670-88864-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2000
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