The tender male ego gets another bruising in this spin-off from Cazet’s popular “Minnie and Moo” readers. Elvis the rooster is about to crow the sun up as usual when a bug flies into his mouth, and he sees the sun rise without his help. Much later, dapper Little Willie’s beefy (well, goosey, to be precise) sidekick, Rocky, finds him swooning on the barn roof, and hauls him down to a sickbed in the coop, from which he proclaims his imminent demise due to uselessness. “I might as well be a cow.” With help from other barnyard residents, Little Willie gets Elvis back up onto the roof for another try, only to see him inhale another bug at just the wrong moment. Happily, Henrietta Hen is standing by to deliver a quick Heimlich maneuver, saving the day (so to speak), and allowing Elvis to regain his “pluck.” Small but finely detailed scenes of barnyard fowl, some adorned with cool-looking shades, add an extra layer of daffiness to this droll episode; fans of the series, and younger readers in general, will applaud as Elvis takes center stage. (Easy reader. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-06-000500-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2003
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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