Still, a delicious tone and the perfect illustrator are sure to make this a beloved story in many a household (odd ending or...
A sweet disposition combined with a penchant for mass destruction drives this sweet if mildly flawed tale of a nanny and her overly enthusiastic young charge.
Despite the girl's mother’s warnings, Martha May’s latest nanny, Miss Harrington-Chive, is sure that the two will get along swimmingly. Instead, the older woman quickly learns that to take your eyes off of Martha for more than two seconds is to invite catastrophe. The story is regularly punctuated by the titular cries of “Martha, No!” as the child scales dino skeletons, digs tunnels and, ultimately, flies away with a clump of balloons—back into her mother’s waiting arms. Martha’s saving grace is that her chaos is inspired less by a desire to be naughty and more out of honest curiosity about the world around her. Allwright is conscious of this fact from the get-go, her Martha charming in her innocence rather than her destruction. The art is a large percentage of the fun, encompassing everything from dramatic teacup balancing to brass-band hijinks. Everything works quite beautifully until the ending, which resolves by indicating that mothers of nannied children apparently hand them off to strangers on a whim rather than a necessity.
Still, a delicious tone and the perfect illustrator are sure to make this a beloved story in many a household (odd ending or no). (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-60684-266-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Egmont USA
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
This humorous, lively dog’s-eye view provides gentle instruction for interacting with pets.
In Weaver’s charming picture book, a dog reassesses his not-so-glowing review of little kids.
“Families are OVERRATED!” as far as the bluish-gray hound named Dog is concerned. While he approves of the adults in the household, the four small children are for the birds. In an attempt to resolve his conflicted feelings, Dog pours his heart out to a therapist scribbling on a notepad. Dog lists his grievances via couplet rhymes: “And many times I’ve found their dirty toys INSIDE MY BOWL! / It’s obvious these little humans have no SELF-CONTROL!” With key words highlighted in colorful and bolded fonts for more emphasis, his voice now has added urgency. Soylu’s lively drawings in muted tones are wondrously effective in animating Dog; his hanging jowls, big eyes, and floppy ears all convey believably beleaguered expressions. Lifelike details enhance the dramatic effect of the children’s boisterous antics. At the end, Weaver provides a list of do’s and don’ts for interacting with pets. Dog lovers can identify the dog breed silhouettes on the endpapers. Kids will get a kick out of Dog’s opinion of humans and perhaps recognize some behaviors to reconsider.
This humorous, lively dog’s-eye view provides gentle instruction for interacting with pets.Pub Date: July 16, 2024
ISBN: 9781736267370
Page Count: 40
Publisher: A Little Offbeat Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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