Fala has to be one of the best known of presidential pets, the dedicated companion of Franklin Roosevelt throughout the World War II years of his presidency. The Scottish terrier was presented to Roosevelt as a puppy and outlived him by several years, but this effort follows Fala just through the end of Roosevelt’s life, making the book more a brief biography of the president during the war than of his pet. Each spread contains a few paragraphs of text accompanied by Montgomery’s quick pencil vignettes and a large, Fala-centered oil-on-canvas illustration, rendered in warm, muted colors that capture the somber mood of the times. Fala is charming in the illustrations, although those that show Roosevelt don’t quite capture his facial appearance. As a very brief biography, the book works well: The inclusion of the pet story makes it palatable for younger readers who aren’t looking for a history lesson, but it also decreases the amount of information that can be included about Roosevelt. Taken together, an engaging package. (Informational picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-56145-411-2
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2008
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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